笑う

Japanese

Kanji in this term
笑
See also 笑い

Etymology

Derived from verb 割る (waru, “to split, to break, to crack”), as imperfect form wara- + auxiliary verb ふ (fu, indicating repetition or ongoing state: modern verb ending う u): "to be in the act of cracking up / breaking open".

Alternative forms

  • 咲う, 嗤う

Pronunciation

Verb

笑う (intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana わらう, romaji warau, historical hiragana わらふ)

  1. to spontaneously express joy or amusement by means of the voice or facial expression:
    1. to laugh
    2. to smile
    マイクがよく笑いますよね。
    マイクがよくわらいますよね。
    Maiku ga yoku waraimasu yo ne.
    Mike laughs / smiles a lot, doesn't he.
  2. to split open (as a plant bud), to bloom
    桜の花が笑う
    さくらのはながわらう
    sakura no hana ga warau
    the cherry flowers bloom
  3. to split open from ripening (as fruit or vegetables)
    栗が笑っている時期
    くりがわらっているじき
    kuri ga waratte iru jiki
    the season when the chestnuts ripen and split open
  4. (metaphor) to bud, become green and verdant, and bloom in spring (as the landscape)
    山の景色が笑う
    やまのけしきがわらう
    yama no keshiki ga warau
    the mountain landscape comes alive / quickens / blooms
  5. to come undone (as a stitch or seam)
    縫い目が笑っている
    ぬいめがわらっている
    nuime ga waratte iru
    the seam is coming open
  6. (slang) to become weak and wobbly (as in the knees)
    膝が笑う
    ひざがわらう
    hiza ga warau
    go wobbly in the knees

笑う (transitive, godan conjugation, hiragana わらう, romaji warau, historical hiragana わらふ)

  1. to laugh at, to make fun of, to make a fool of
    ジュディは私を笑った。
    ジュディはわたしをわらった。
    Judi wa watashi o waratta.
    Judy laughed at me / made fun of me / made a fool of me.

Usage notes

Of the three spellings, 笑う, 咲う, and 嗤う, the 笑う spelling is the most common. The bloom and ripen open senses may also be spelled 咲う (see synonym using the same kanji, 咲く (saku, “to bloom”)). The make fun of sense may also be spelled 嗤う (see synonym using the same kanji, 嗤笑 (shishō, “to laugh at, to ridicule, to jeer at”)).

Conjugation

Conjugation of "笑う" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Stem forms Imperfective (未然形) 笑わ わらわ warawa
Continuative (連用形) 笑い わらい warai
Terminal (終止形) 笑う わらう warau
Attributive (連体形) 笑う わらう warau
Hypothetical (仮定形) 笑え わらえ warae
Imperative (命令形) 笑え わらえ warae
Key constructions Passive 笑われる わらわれる warawareru
Causative 笑わせる
笑わす		 わらわせる
わらわす		 warawaseru
warawasu
Potential 笑える わらえる waraeru
Volitional 笑おう わらおう waraō
Negative 笑わない わらわない warawanai
Negative continuative 笑わず わらわず warawazu
Formal 笑います わらいます waraimasu
Perfective 笑った わらった waratta
Conjunctive 笑って わらって waratte
Hypothetical conditional 笑えば わらえば waraeba

Synonyms

Idioms

Idioms
  • 笑う顔に矢立たず (わらうかおにやたたず, warau kao ni ya tatazu): "arrows won't pierce a smiling face" → someone approaching in friendship will not be fired upon; a smile will melt away hostility
  • 笑う顔は打たれぬ (わらうかおはうたれぬ, warau kao wa utarenu): "a smiling face won't get hit" → someone approaching in friendship will not be attacked; a smile will melt away hostility
  • 笑う山 (わらうやま, warau yama): "the smiling mountains" →
  • 笑うものは測るべからず (わらうものははかるべからず, warau mono wa hakaru bekarazu): "you can't take the measure of a smiling man" → someone who is always smiling is hard to read, and may thus be more predator than pal: be wary of charmers
  • 笑う門には福来る (わらうかどにはふくきたる, warau kado ni wa fuku kitaru): "fortune comes to the smiling door" → happiness brings good luck, laugh and grow fat
  • 笑い三年泣き三月 (わらいさんねんなきみつき, warai sannen naki mitsuki): "laughter three years, crying three months" → a metaphorical rule of thumb for how long it takes to learn proper expression in the traditional 義太夫 (gidayū) style of dramatic recital
  • 笑いの内に刀を礪ぐ (わらいのうちにかたなをとぐ, warai no uchi ni katana o togu): "to sharpen a sword while laughing / smiling" → to make oneself appear happy while thinking hostile thoughts
  • 笑いは人の薬 (わらいはひとのくすり, warai wa hito no kusuri): "laughter is medicine for people" → laughter is the best medicine
  • 笑って損した者なし (わらってそんしたものなし, waratte son shita mono nashi): "no one's been hurt by smiling" → a smile never hurts
  • 笑って損するは箔屋ばかり (わらってそんするははくやばかり, waratte son suru wa hakuya bakari): "the only one to make a loss on laughing is an embosser" → if an embosser laughs, the gold foil they work with would go flying, but for anyone else, laughter brings good fortune
  • 笑って太れ (わらってふとれ, waratte futore): "laugh and grow fat" → happiness brings good luck
  • 笑って暮らすも一生泣いて暮らすも一生 (わらってくらすもいっしょうないてくらすもいっしょう, waratte kurasu mo isshō naite kurasu mo isshō); 泣いて暮らすも一生笑って暮らすも一生 (ないてくらすもいっしょうわらってくらすもいっしょう, naite kurasu mo isshō waratte kurasu mo isshō): "you can live crying, or live laughing"
  • 笑わざれば以て道と為すに足らず (わらわざればもってみちとなすにたらず, warawazareba motte michi to nasu ni tarazu): "if it's not laughed at, it's not enough to be the right way" → from the way a fool will laugh when told the way to do something, so if it's not enough for even a fool to laugh at, then it must not have any value at all

Derived terms

Derived terms
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Last modified on 11 April 2013, at 04:58