冷笑 (lěng xiào) — to sneer; a sneer (a cold, contemptuous laugh) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A cold, contemptuous laugh — showing scorn, not amusement. Combines 冷 (cold) and 笑 (laugh) to convey disdain, unlike a neutral 笑.

to sneera sneer (a cold, contemptuous laugh)

Examples

，冷笑。
Tā tīng le wǒ de huà, zhǐ shì lěng xiào le yī shēng.
After hearing what I said, he just sneered.
，冷笑。
Miàn duì pī píng, tā fā chū yī shēng lěng xiào.
In the face of criticism, she let out a sneer.
冷笑，。
Bié lěng xiào, wǒ shì rèn zhēn de.
Don't sneer — I'm serious.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

冷 describes the 笑 as cold or contemptuous, giving sneer.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

冫令冷

Meaning part形符xíngfú

冫Written in full as仌bīngice

Sound part声符shēngfú

令

令lìng冷lěng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

冷 uses 冫, the ice form, with 令 as a sound part, to mean cold as ice.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

艸

艸cǎo笑xiào

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

An early 笑 used the grass 艸 for the sound and the dog 犬 for the meaning; later it was written with 竹 and 夭.

Appears in

Emotions & Feelings

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