逗笑 (dòu xiào) — to make someone laugh, to amuse; to tease playf… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

To make someone laugh, usually with playful teasing rather than a real joke — less formal than 逗乐. Often used in a 把 sentence or after 得.

verb

to make someone laughto amuseto tease playfully

Examples

，逗笑。
Tā jiǎng le yí gè xiào hua, bǎ dà jiā dōu dòu xiào le.
He told a joke and made everyone laugh.
逗笑，。
Bié dòu xiào tā le, tā zhèng zài shēng qì ne.
Don't tease him — he's angry right now.
。
Tā dòu dé hái zi xiào le bàn tiān.
She amused the child for a long time.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

逗笑 joins 逗, tease, with 笑, laugh, to mean make someone laugh.

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.

辶豆逗

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuò

Sound part声符shēngfú

豆

豆dòu逗dòu

Same sound today

逗 pairs 辶, written in full as 辵, with 豆, which gives the sound.

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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