嬉笑 (xī xiào) — to laugh and play; to giggle (lightheartedly) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary verb meaning to laugh and play lightheartedly. Unlike 玩耍 (focused on playing/amusing oneself), 嬉笑 centers on the laughter itself.

verb

to laugh and playto giggle (lightheartedly)

Examples

嬉笑。
Tā men yì biān liáo tiān yì biān xī xiào.
They chatted and laughed playfully at the same time.
嬉笑。
Tā tīng dào xiào hua hòu rěn bú zhù xī xiào qǐ lái.
She couldn't help giggling after hearing the joke.
嬉笑。
Jiào shì lǐ chuán lái yí zhèn xī xiào shēng.
A burst of laughter came from the classroom.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

嬉xīplayful

嬉 means playful and 笑 means laugh; together they describe laughing and playing.

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.

女喜嬉

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

喜

喜xǐ嬉⁰xī

Same sound today

嬉 has 女 on the left and 喜 on the right; the 喜 part gives the sound and means joy.

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

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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