嘻嘻哈哈 (xī xī hā hā) — laughing and joking; mirthful sounds of laughter and banter

Definition

Onomatopoeia for laughing and joking in a light, carefree way. Used as an adverbial with 地 (e.g. 嘻嘻哈哈地聊天) or to describe an atmosphere of mirth.

laughing and jokingmirthful sounds of laughter and banter

Examples

  • 嘻嘻哈哈。
    Tā men xī xī hā hā dì liáo le yí xià wǔ.
    They chatted and joked all afternoon.
  • 嘻嘻哈哈。
    Jiào shì lǐ yí piàn xī xī hā hā de shēng yīn.
    The classroom was full of sounds of laughter and joking.
  • 嘻嘻哈哈。
    Péng you men xī xī hā hā dì wán le yí gè wǎn shàng.
    Friends played and laughed all evening.

Origin

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
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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
合
合hé哈hā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

哈 uses 口 (mouth) to show a mouth-related idea, and 合 as a sound part. The shape of 合 may look like two open mouths, but that is likely by chance.

Open 哈 →

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

哈 uses 口 (mouth) to show a mouth-related idea, and 合 as a sound part. The shape of 合 may look like two open mouths, but that is likely by chance.

Open 哈 →

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