草
[kɯ̟̊sa̠]
The Japanese equivalent of the emoticon 'xd' is 草.
In Japanese internet slang, 草 is used to indicate laughter or to say 'lol'. It is often used to express that something is funny or ridiculous.
Which one should you use?
While the letter w is a common shorthand for laughter, 草 is a more evolved slang term used to express that something is funny or ridiculous.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
草 is strictly used in online gaming, social media and internet forums and is inappropriate for formal or polite speech.
When do people say it?
Japanese online culture uses several ways to represent laughter. The slang term 'www' is used to mimic the sound of laughter, and the emoticon （＾∇＾） is also used to represent laughter.
Did you know?
- The use of 草 to mean laughter comes from the visual resemblance of repeated w characters, as in wwwwwww, to a row of blades of grass.
- In Japanese internet culture, the more w characters a user types, the 'longer' the grass grows and the funnier the situation is perceived to be.
- The term 草 might be phonetically linked to the onomatopoeia くすくす, which is the Japanese way of describing the sound of stifled or suppressed laughter.
Examples in context
- 彼のジョークを聞いて大笑いしたI burst into laughter when I heard his joke
- 彼女の笑い声はとても可愛いHer laughter is very cute
- おもしろすぎて笑！！It's so funny, LOL!
- あの映画、面白すぎて笑っちゃったwwwThat movie was so funny, LOL!
- あの動画、マジで草。Ano douga, maji de kusa.That video is seriously funny xd.
- 今のミスは草すぎる。Ima no misu wa kusa sugiru.That mistake just now is too funny xd.
- そんなの草不可避。Sonna no kusa fukahi.That is impossible not to laugh at xd.
Example conversation
Two friends are chatting about a funny video clip over text.
- 蓮 Renこの動画見た？Kono douga mita?Did you see this video?
- 美咲 Misaki見た！めっちゃ草。Mita! Meccha kusa.I did! It's so funny xd.
- 蓮 Ren顔が面白すぎて草。Kao ga omoshirosugite kusa.His face is so funny xd.
- 美咲 Misaki本当に草不可避だね。Hontou ni kusa fukahi da ne.It really is impossible not to laugh xd.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 草, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 草, CC BY-SA 4.0.
