笑笑 (xiào xiào) — to smile briefly or politely; to give a little…

Definition

Reduplicated form of 笑 meaning a brief, casual, or polite smile — lighter than a full laugh (笑). Often used to soften a situation or acknowledge someone without committing to a big reaction.

verb

to smile briefly or politelyto give a little laugh

Examples

笑笑笑笑，。
Tā duì wǒ xiào xiào xiào xiào, diǎn diǎn tóu.
He gave me a smile and nodded.
，笑笑笑笑。
Bié shēng qì, xiào xiào xiào xiào jiù hǎo le.
Don't be angry; just smile and it'll be fine.
笑笑笑笑，。
Tā tīng le zhǐ shì xiào xiào xiào xiào, méi shuō huà.
She just smiled when she heard it and didn't say anything.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

笑xiàosmile

Repeating 笑 makes the action brief and light, as in a small smile.

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

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 →