xiào
to laugh; smile
我笑了。
wǒ xiào le.
I laughed.
他笑了。
tā xiào le.
He laughed.
她笑了。
tā xiào le.
She laughed.
微笑 (wéixiào)
smile
发笑 (fāxiào)
laugh
取笑 (qǔxiào)
make fun of
哭 (kū)
cry
愁 (chóu)
sad
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The Chinese character 笑 (xiào) for "laugh" is composed of two parts: the radical 讠 (yán), which indicates that the character is related to speech, and the phonetic component 肖 (xiào), which provides a hint to its pronunciation. The radical 讠 is a pictograph of a person speaking, while the phonetic component 肖 is a pictograph of a person with a big mouth, indicating laughter. Together, these two components form the character 笑, which conveys the meaning of "laugh". It's worth noting that the phonetic component 肖 also carries the meaning of "similar" or "resemble", adding another layer of nuance to the character 笑.
