欢笑 (huān xiào) — to laugh joyfully, to laugh heartily | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A literary verb for laughing with joy or amusement, more elegant than everyday 笑 (xiào, 'to laugh'). Often appears in writing as a noun-like phrase, e.g. 欢笑声 'sounds of happy laughter'.

verb

to laugh joyfullyto laugh heartily

Examples

欢笑。
Hái zi men zài cāo chǎng shàng jìn qíng huān xiào.
The children are laughing heartily on the playground.
欢笑。
Dà jiā tīng dào xiào hua hòu dōu huān xiào qǐ lái.
Everyone started laughing joyfully after hearing the joke.
。
Jù huì zhōng chōng mǎn le huān xiào shēng.
The party was filled with the sound of happy laughter.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

欢 and 笑 contribute equally to the idea of laughing with joy.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 歡; 欢 is its simplified writing.

雚欠歡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

雚

雚guàn歡huān

Same sound today

The traditional form 歡 uses 雚 for the sound and 欠 for the meaning; the simplified 欢 is a later shorthand, so its parts do not carry that history.

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

Emotions & Feelings

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