嘻笑 (xī xiào) — to laugh heartily or playfully; to giggle

Definition

Literary/formal verb for laughing playfully or giggling together. The 嘻- gives it a light, mirthful tone, more vivid than the plain 笑.

verb
to laugh heartily or playfullyto giggle
Easily confused

Examples

  • 嘻笑。
    Hái zi men zài gōng yuán lǐ xī xiào zhe wán.
    The children are playing and laughing in the park.
  • 嘻笑。
    Tā tīng dào xiào hua hòu rěn bú zhù xī xiào qǐ lái.
    She couldn't help but giggle after hearing the joke.
  • 嘻笑，。
    Tā men yì biān liáo tiān yì biān xī xiào, qì fen hěn qīng sōng.
    They chatted and laughed, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

嘻xīlaugh
笑xiàolaugh

嘻 and 笑 both refer to laughing; together they describe a playful, hearty laugh.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
喜
喜xǐ嘻xī
Same sound today

嘻 is formed from 口, the mouth, plus 喜, which gives the sound.

Open 嘻 →

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
犬犬quǎndog
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.

Open 笑 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.