So you’ve started learning Chinese, either via Chinese learning apps, by listening to Chinese podcasts, or by burying yourself in Chinese textbooks. As a result, you’ve got a basic (or intermediate) grasp of the language. But, one question remains: Do you know how to laugh in Chinese?
That sounds like a funny (in a weird way) question but I assure you, laughing in Chinese is no laughing matter (ay!). That’s because there are multiple characters in the language that convey laughter, but each of them means something a little different! Don’t believe us? Here are seven ways to laugh in Chinese, and what each of them conveys!
1. Haha 哈哈
To start off this barrel of laughs (excuse the pun), we have the most common way to express laughing in Chinese, 哈哈 (haha). Yes, even a language as foreign-sounding as Chinese uses the same universal phonetic utterances to convey laughter!
Not only is 哈哈 the most common way to laugh in Chinese (both online and physically), but it is one way to laugh in Chinese that conveys genuine joy and amusement.
The most typical way to laugh using haha is to type the character 哈 twice (a singular 哈 can be perceived as a question), but one can also type an infinite number of 哈s to convey bouts of laughter. The longer the string of characters, the funnier the situation is. Consider it the Chinese equivalent of typing “lol”, “lmao”, “rofl” etc.
2. Hehe 呵呵
Pronounced like “her her” without the “r” sound, this is arguably one of my favorite ways to laugh in Chinese, not because it conveys extreme joy (it doesn’t), but because of how ambiguous it is.
Consider 呵呵 to be the awkward or embarrassing laugh at the end of an unfunny joke. In some cases in real life, it’s literally the sound one makes when laughing dismissively. Laughing in Chinese using 呵呵 is also a way to convey disagreement, sarcasm, or mockery at the beginning or end of a sentence.
If you annoy your significant other and they text this, know that they probably do not find the situation at all amusing! And definitely don’t reply with a “呵呵” of your own!
3. Heihei 嘿嘿
嘿嘿 is often confused with the aforementioned 呵呵 because they sound somewhat similar but you can often identify which is which based on the situation you find yourself in. 嘿嘿 is more like the “hehe” in English (it is pronounced that way too), and it is a way of laughing in Chinese that conveys mischief.
Sometimes, you may also see people use this form of laughter when they do something unexpectedly funny or amazing, with the second character being dragged a bit, sort of like “he heyyy!”.
Unlike 哈哈 however, 嘿嘿 is usually confined to only two characters. You will likely never see anyone type 嘿嘿嘿嘿嘿嘿嘿, unless they are secretly an evil genius plotting to take over the world, and that’s their evil laugh.
4. Xixi 嘻嘻
Learning how to laugh in Chinese is important, not just because different types of laughter convey different meanings (like the examples above), but also because certain types of laughter are (usually) reserved for certain genders.
嘻嘻 is a cute, coy giggle that sounds like “hee hee” in English. It is often used by girls to convey a shy type of laugh, usually as a means to act cute in front of someone they like, including their friends. In some ways, 嘻嘻 is also a mischievous type of laughter, albeit in a more light-hearted manner.
Fun fact: The origins of 嘻嘻 can actually be traced back to Ancient China, where women would often laugh like this behind a handkerchief or a cloth.
5. 233
Yes, this is a weird one, but I promise you, I’m not pulling your leg. This is a genuine way to laugh in Chinese, but only within the online community!
The origins of using 233 as a means of (online) laughter can be traced back to an old online forum where the 233rd emoticon is a laughing cat. It’s often used in online streaming platforms, where users sometimes type the numbers instead of the usual laughing characters like 哈哈 or 嘻嘻.
So if you see someone spamming 233 in the chat, know that they are laughing and not bugging out!
6. Memes and emojis
Much like the rest of the world, Chinese users on the internet are no strangers to using memes and emojis to express laughter. Very often, these range from the typical smiley faces to some of the more unique ones on WeChat.
However, what I find to be genuinely funny is the Chinese memes that are often used to laugh in Chinese. Known as panda meme pictures (熊猫梗图), the memes feature a panda with a humanoid face with a variety of expressions, one of which is laughter. In fact, it sometimes even has the words 哈哈 on it!
7. Xiao si 笑死 and Xiao ku 笑哭
Finally, a more direct way to show laughing in Chinese — just say that you’re laughing! This is often seen online (although some people also use it in real life) in forums, comment sections, and chats.
笑死 roughly translates to dying of laughter while 笑哭 means tearing up from laughing. Both these phrases are used to bluntly express how something is extremely funny in place of a string of 哈哈哈s.
Final thoughts
And there you have it, seven different ways to laugh in Chinese! To be honest, unless you’re extremely active chatting on forums, you’ll likely only ever need to use 哈哈. That said, it definitely doesn’t hurt to know how to laugh in Chinese using different characters and forms. After all, you never know when you just might need to use them!