hacer reír
/aθeɾ ɾeiɾ/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'make laugh' is translated into Spanish as hacer reír.
Which one should you use?
Hacer reír is a transitive construction where the subject performs the action of making someone laugh. In contrast, dar risa is used when a thing or person inherently possesses the quality of being funny, acting as an idiomatic way to say that something or someone is funny.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you want to specify who is being made to laugh, you must use the preposition 'a' before the person, such as hacer reír a mi hermano.
How do you pronounce it?
/aθeɾ ɾeiɾ/
Did you know?
- The phrase hacer reír is used in the Spanish idiom hacer reír por no llorar, which describes laughing at a situation because it is too tragic to cry about.
- Spanish has a specific word carcajada for a loud burst of laughter, which is the kind of laugh most people aim for when they try to hacer reír someone.
- The verb reír comes from the Latin 'ridēre', which is the same ancestor that gave us the English word 'ridiculous'.
Examples in context
- Él sabe cómo hacer reír a la gente.He knows how to make people laugh.
- Esa película suele hacer reír a todos.That movie usually makes everyone laugh.
Example conversation
Javier and Sofía are at a cafe discussing a comedy show.
- Javier¿Te gustó el nuevo comediante?Did you like the new comedian?
- SofíaSí, tiene mucha facilidad para hacer reír.Yes, he has a great way to make people laugh.
- JavierEs cierto, me hizo reír mucho.It's true, he made me laugh a lot.
- SofíaDeberíamos ir a verlo otra vez.We should go see him again.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
