笑う
warau[β̞a̠ɾa̠ɯ̟]
To laugh in Japanese is 笑う (warau).
The verb 笑う means to laugh, showing mirth through facial movements and sounds. Depending on the context, it can also mean to smile. If you want to specify a gentle or quiet smile, the more specific verb 微笑む is used instead.
Meaning: show mirth by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face and emission of sounds (verb)
Which one should you use?
While 笑う can mean to smile, 微笑む is a more specific verb used for a gentle or quiet smile.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb 笑う can be conjugated into several forms: the past tense is 笑った (laughed) and the negative form is 笑わない (do not laugh). The contracted form 笑っちゃ is used to express spontaneous laughter.
How do you pronounce it?
warau
Did you know?
- In Japanese digital communication, users often write www to represent laughter. This comes from the word 笑い (warai) and resembles a row of grass, leading to the slang term 草 (kusa), meaning 'grass', to describe something funny.
- Japanese culture has a concept called 愛想笑い (aiso-warai), which refers to a 'social smile' or 'forced laugh' used to maintain harmony in social interactions even when the speaker is not amused.
- The verb 笑う is etymologically related to the verb 割る, meaning 'to split' or 'to crack'. This suggests the historical concept of laughter as 'cracking up' or 'breaking open'.
Examples in context
- どうして笑うの？What makes you laugh?This sentence is useful for asking why someone is laughing using 笑う.Tatoeba #8613529 by small_snow, translation #6915534 by CK
- 彼らは陰で彼のことを笑う。They laugh at him behind his back.This sentence shows how to use 笑う to describe laughing at someone behind their back.Tatoeba #97521 by arnab, translation #306181 by CK
- 笑う動物は、人間だけです。Humans are the only animals that laugh.This sentence uses 笑う to state that humans are the only animals that laugh.Tatoeba #11178555 by small_snow, translation #5009431 by AlanF_US
- 彼は面白いジョークに笑った。He laughed at the funny joke.
- 彼女の笑い声は響いた。Her laughter resounded.
- 曲がりくねった小道で笑い声が響き渡った。Laughter echoed through the winding path.
- その驚きの結果に笑っちゃいました。I couldn't help but laugh at the surprising outcome.
- 12 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yui and Kenta are watching a funny video on a phone.
- 結衣 Yuiこの動画、本当に面白いね。Kono dōga, hontō ni omoshiroi ne.This video is really funny, isn't it?
- 健太 Kentaうん、つい笑うよ。Un, tsui warau yo.Yeah, I can't help but laugh.
- 結衣 Yui健太くん、笑いすぎだよ。Kenta-kun, waraisugi dayo.Kenta, you're laughing too much.
- 健太 Kentaだって、おかしいもん。Datte, okashii mon.But it's just so silly.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “laugh” translations and entries 笑う, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 笑う, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
