笑 meaning and stroke order
To laugh; to smile; to laugh at
How to write 笑, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 3
- 4
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- 10
Meaning of 笑
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to laugh; to smile
- to laugh at
- old variant of 笑[xiao4]
How 笑 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A person 夭 with a big grin ⺮.
Radical: ⺮ (bamboo), shared by 149 characters on this site.
How to remember 笑
The top part ⺮ looks like two curved eyes or a big grin, and below it is 夭, a person tilting their head. Picture someone throwing their head back with a wide grin, and you have 笑 (xiào), to laugh or smile.
笑 works alone as a verb for both smiling and laughing, and 笑 + person means to laugh at someone. It also appears in many everyday words like 微笑 (wēixiào, smile) and 开玩笑 (kāi wánxiào, to joke). Example: 你笑什么？(Nǐ xiào shénme?) What are you laughing at?
Common mistake: Learners often mix up the bottom part 夭 with 天 (tiān) or 犬 (quǎn). In 笑 the top stroke of 夭 is a short slanted stroke, not a flat line like in 天.
Common words with 笑
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 开玩笑 | kāi wánxiào | to play a joke; to make fun of; to joke | HSK 1 |
| 笑话 | xiàohua | joke; jest; to laugh at; to mock | HSK 2 |
| 笑话儿 | xiàohuar | erhua form of 笑話|笑话[xiao4 hua5] | HSK 2 |
| 微笑 | wēixiào | smile; to smile | HSK 4 |
| 笑容 | xiàoróng | smile; smiling expression | HSK 6 |
| 笑声 | xiàoshēng | laughter | HSK 6 |
| 笑脸 | xiàoliǎn | smiling face; smiley :) ☺ | HSK 6 |
| 好笑 | hǎoxiào | laughable; funny; ridiculous | HSK 7-9 |
| 可笑 | kěxiào | funny; ridiculous | HSK 7-9 |
| 搞笑 | gǎoxiào | to get people to laugh; funny | HSK 7-9 |
| 嘲笑 | cháoxiào | to jeer at; to deride | HSK 7-9 |
| 取笑 | qǔxiào | to tease; to make fun of | HSK 7-9 |
| 冷笑 | lěngxiào | to sneer; to laugh grimly | HSK 7-9 |
| 耻笑 | chǐxiào | to sneer at sb; to ridicule | HSK 7-9 |
笑 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 笑
How many strokes are in 笑?
笑 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 笑 mean?
笑 (xiào) means to laugh; to smile; to laugh at. A common word with it is 开玩笑 (kāi wánxiào), meaning "to play a joke; to make fun of; to joke".
How do you pronounce 笑?
笑 is pronounced xiào, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 笑?
The radical of 笑 is ⺮, which carries the idea of "bamboo". Dictionaries list 笑 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 笑?
The traditional form of 笑 is 咲. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 笑 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 笑 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 笑 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
How do I say "don't laugh at me" in Chinese?
Say 别笑我 (bié xiào wǒ). Putting a person right after 笑 gives the meaning of laughing at or mocking them.
What is the difference between 笑话 and 好笑?
笑话 (xiàohua) is a noun meaning a joke, or a verb meaning to mock someone. 好笑 (hǎoxiào) is an adjective meaning funny or ridiculous, as in 这个很好笑 (zhège hěn hǎoxiào), this is really funny.