大笑不止 (dà xiào bù zhǐ) — to laugh uncontrollably, to be unable to stop laughing

Definition

An emphatic, narrative-style verb phrase meaning 'to laugh uncontrollably and not stop' — more vivid and literary than simply saying 笑个不停. Best used in writing or storytelling rather than everyday speech.

verb
to laugh uncontrollablyto be unable to stop laughing

Examples

  • ，大笑不止。
    Tā tīng dào nà ge xiào hua, dà xiào bù zhǐ.
    He heard that joke and couldn't stop laughing.
  • ，大笑不止。
    Kàn dào xiǎo míng de gǎo xiào biǎo yǎn, guān zhòng men dà xiào bù zhǐ.
    Seeing Xiaoming's hilarious performance, the audience laughed uncontrollably.
  • ，大笑不止。
    Tā zài diàn huà lǐ jiǎng le gè qù shì, wǒ dà xiào bù zhǐ.
    She told a funny story on the phone, and I couldn't stop laughing.

Origin

Characters in this word

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 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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

止 was drawn as a footprint pointing up, with three toes and a sole, originally showing a foot.

Open 止 →

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