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捧腹大笑 (pěng fù dà xiào) — to laugh heartily, to be convulsed with laughter

Definition

Literally 'clutch one's belly and laugh big': a vivid chengyu for laughing so hard you hold your stomach — stronger than just 大笑.

idiom
to laugh heartilyto be convulsed with laughter

Examples

  • 捧腹大笑。
    Tā de xiào hua ràng dà jiā pěng fù dà xiào.
    His joke made everyone laugh heartily.
  • ，捧腹大笑。
    Kàn dào nà ge huá jī de dòng zuò, guān zhòng pěng fù dà xiào.
    Seeing that funny move, the audience was convulsed with laughter.
  • ，捧腹大笑。
    Zhè ge gù shi tài gǎo xiào le, wǒ xiào dé pěng fù dà xiào.
    This story is so hilarious that I laughed until I held my belly.

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.

捧腹hold belly
捧pěnghold腹fùbelly
动宾Verb + object
大笑laugh hard
大dàheartily笑xiàolaugh
偏正Modifier + head

捧腹 shows holding the belly, 大笑 shows laughing hard; together they picture hearty laughter.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 捧 →

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
肉肉ròumeat; flesh
Sound part声符shēngfú
复
复fù腹⁰fù
Same sound today

The left part 肉, meaning flesh, shows this is a body part, and the right part 复 gives the sound.

Open 腹 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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
Emotions & FeelingsIdioms & Set Phrases

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