TongTong
Sign in

好笑 (hǎo xiào) — funny, laughable, ridiculous

Definition

Everyday word for 'funny' in a neutral sense, but can also mean 'laughable / ridiculous' when something is silly or absurd. 搞笑 is more like 'hilarious' (intentionally funny); 可笑 and 荒谬 lean toward 'ridiculous / absurd'.

adjective
funnylaughableridiculous

Examples

  • 好笑。
    Tā jiǎng le yí gè fēi cháng hǎo xiào de xiào hua.
    He told a very funny joke.
  • 好笑。
    Wǒ jué de tā de xiǎng fǎ yǒu diǎn hǎo xiào.
    I think his idea is a bit ridiculous.
  • ，。
    Zhè ge yì diǎn yě bù hǎo xiào, bié xiào le.
    This is not funny at all, stop laughing.

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.

好hǎopleasant
笑xiàolaugh

好笑 joins 好 meaning pleasant with 笑 meaning laugh, giving the sense of funny or laughable.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

好 joins 女 (woman) and 子 (child), understood as a woman with a child, linked to goodness or affection.

Open 好 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Good & Bad3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.