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N4Lesson notes · Oct 5, 2026

Laugh in Japanese: 笑わらう (わらう), 笑わらわせる, 笑わらえる, 爆笑ばくしょう, and 苦笑にがわらい

"Laugh" in Japanese is 笑わらう (わらう). The same verb also means "smile", so context decides which one you mean. 〜を笑わらう is "laugh at" with a mocking feel, 笑わらわせる is "make someone laugh", 笑わらわれる is "be laughed at", and 笑わらえる is "can laugh" or, more often, "funny enough to make you laugh".

English splits "laugh" and "smile" into two verbs. Japanese uses one verb for both and adds small words to show how big the laugh is. This post covers the verb forms, the everyday words for kinds of laughter, the sound words anime loves, and the internet shorthand. For the noun "a smile", see smile in Japanese.

How do you say "laugh" in Japanese?

What does 笑わらう mean?

笑わらう (わらう) means to laugh and to smile. Often 笑わらう alone is enough; if you need to be clear, add a sound word or a size word.

友ともだちの話はなしを聞きいて、みんなで笑わらった。 — We all laughed when we heard my friend's story. (casual) 彼女かのじょは笑わらっていた。 — She was smiling / laughing. (casual, context decides)

If the person makes sound, English speakers hear "laugh". If it is only the face, "smile" is the better translation. A small point: for a quiet smile, 微笑ほほえむ (ほほえむ) is a gentler, more literary word. You will meet it in novels and descriptions, not in casual talk.

What is the difference between 笑わらう and 笑顔えがお?

笑わらう is a verb (to laugh, to smile). 笑顔えがお (えがお) is a noun, "a smiling face". You 笑わらう, and you show a 笑顔えがお. The noun and its everyday phrases have their own post, so this one stays on the verb.

彼かれは笑顔えがおで挨拶あいさつした。 — He greeted us with a smile. (casual)

How do you say "laugh at" someone?

〜を笑わらう means "laugh at" something or someone. It can be neutral, but it often carries a mocking feeling.

人ひとの失敗しっぱいを笑わらってはいけない。 — You shouldn't laugh at other people's failures. (polite-ish, rule) みんなに笑わらわれた。 — Everyone laughed at me. (casual, passive)

Be careful with the particle. In English "laugh at" sounds neutral, but 〜を笑わらう leans toward ridicule. For friendly laughing, say 〜で笑わらう or just 笑わらった, and mention the cause: 話はなしで笑わらう, "laugh at the story". For the full range of teasing words, see make fun of in Japanese.

What are the useful forms of 笑わらう?

How do you say "make someone laugh"?

笑わらわせる (わらわせる) is the causative: "make someone laugh". 笑わらわせる人ひと is someone who makes you laugh.

彼かれは、いつもみんなを笑わらわせる。 — He always makes everyone laugh. (casual) 笑わらわせないで。 — Don't make me laugh. (casual, can sound scornful)

The last example is a common sarcastic line: "Don't make me laugh" in the sense of "that's ridiculous". For how the causative form works in general, see the causative form させる.

How do you say "be laughed at"?

笑わらわれる (わらわれる) is the passive: "be laughed at". Japanese passives often carry a feeling of "it bothered me".

変へんな服ふくで、笑わらわれた。 — I was laughed at for my weird outfit. (casual)

What is the difference between 笑わらう and 笑わらえる?

笑わらえる is the potential form of 笑わらう, but in daily speech it usually means "it makes you laugh" or "it's hilarious". It describes the thing, not the act of laughing.

この動画どうが、めっちゃ笑わらえる。 — This video is hilarious. (casual) こんな時ときに、笑わらえない。 — I can't laugh at a time like this. (casual, literal "cannot laugh")

Both readings exist, so context matters. 笑わらえない is also very common as a flat "that's not funny", for example 笑わらえない冗談じょうだん, "a joke that isn't funny". For the other words meaning "funny", see funny in Japanese.

What does 笑わらっちゃう mean?

笑わらっちゃう (わらっちゃう) is the casual form of 笑わらってしまう: "I can't help laughing". The ちゃう ending adds the feeling that you could not stop yourself.

真面目まじめな顔かおで言いうから、笑わらっちゃった。 — He said it with such a straight face that I couldn't help laughing. (casual)

What are the Japanese words for different kinds of laughter?

Japanese often adds a word to 笑わらう to show the size or feeling of the laugh.

その番組ばんぐみを見みて、爆笑ばくしょうした。 — I burst out laughing watching that show. (casual) 彼女かのじょは大笑おおわらいした。 — She laughed out loud. (casual) 先生せんせいの言葉ことばに、苦笑にがわらいするしかなかった。 — I could only give a wry smile at the teacher's words. (casual) これは、あとで笑い話わらいばなしになる。 — This will become a funny story later. (casual)

Word Reading Meaning
笑わらう わらう laugh; smile
微笑ほほえむ ほほえむ smile gently
爆笑ばくしょう ばくしょう burst out laughing
大笑おおわらい おおわらい big laugh
苦笑にがわらい にがわらい wry or awkward smile
笑い話わらいばなし わらいばなし funny story
笑わらえる わらえる funny; can laugh
お笑わらい おわらい comedy

爆笑ばくしょう is explosive, literally "explosion laugh". You can use it as a verb (爆笑ばくしょうした), and also for a crowd: 爆笑ばくしょうの渦うず, "a whirlpool of laughter". 苦笑にがわらい is the smile you make when you are embarrassed or can't say what you really feel.

Beyond the basics

What is お笑わらい?

お笑わらい (おわらい) means comedy as an entertainment genre. A お笑わらい芸人げいにん (おわらいげいにん) is a comedian. It covers stand-up, comedy duos called 漫才まんざい (まんざい), and TV variety comedy.

お笑わらいが好すきで、毎週まいしゅうテレビで見みている。 — I like comedy and watch it on TV every week. (casual)

Which sound words describe laughing?

Japanese has many 擬態ぎたい語ご and 擬音ぎおん語ご for laughter: ゲラゲラ (loud, hearty), クスクス (giggling, hiding it), ニヤニヤ (smirking), ニコニコ (smiling happily), ヘラヘラ (grinning without much thought).

みんなゲラゲラ笑わらっていた。 — Everyone was roaring with laughter. (casual) 後うしろの席せきで、女の子おんなのこたちがクスクス笑わらっていた。 — The girls in the back seats were giggling. (casual) 彼かれは、ニヤニヤしながら私わたしを見みた。 — He looked at me with a smirk. (casual)

ニコニコ is warm, ニヤニヤ is often suspicious or smug, and ヘラヘラ can sound careless or insincere. For the whole system of sound words, see giongo and gitaigo.

What do w, 草くさ, and 笑わらい mean online?

Online, a single 笑わらい in brackets, a row of w, or 草くさ all mean "lol". Each w stands for 笑わらい (the first letter of わらう, "warau"), and 草くさ (くさ, "grass") comes from a long row of w that looks like grass. 草くさ is explained in kusa meaning, so only a short example here.

それは草くさ。 — That's hilarious. (slang, online) 今日きょうはほんとに疲つかれた(笑わらい) — I was really tired today (lol). (online, texting)

笑わらい in brackets, written (笑わらい), is also softer: it can mean "just kidding" at the end of a sentence, so it can lighten a serious statement.

What do characters say in anime?

In anime, 笑わらうな! (わらうな) means "Don't laugh!", and 何なにがおかしい? (なにがおかしい) means "What's so funny?" The second line is a classic from villains and embarrassed heroes alike.

笑わらうな! 本気ほんきなんだぞ。 — Don't laugh! I'm serious. (casual, rough) 何なにがおかしい? — What's so funny? (casual, rough, often angry)

おかしい can mean "funny" and also "strange", so the same sentence can sound like a challenge. You will also hear キャラ laugh with a long ハハハ or フフフ. Villains use ククク or フフフ for a quiet, scary laugh.

Common mistakes

  • Mixing up 笑わらう and 笑わらえる. 笑わらう is what a person does. 笑わらえる describes the thing that makes you laugh. この動画どうがは笑わらえる, not この動画どうがは笑わらう.
  • Saying 友ともだちに笑わらう for "laugh at my friend". Use 友ともだちを笑わらう. For "laugh with my friend", say 友ともだちと笑わらう.
  • Using 〜を笑わらう when you mean a friendly laugh. It leans toward mocking. For a friendly laugh, say 〜に笑わらった or mention the cause: 話はなしを聞きいて笑わらった.
  • Using 笑わらう when you mean "funny". For "funny", use おもしろい, or 笑わらえる for something that makes you laugh.
  • Forgetting the causative. Don't say 彼かれを笑わらう when you mean "make him laugh". It is 彼かれを笑わらわせる.

Practice

Try each answer before opening it. Questions 3 and 4 are a pair: the same English word "laugh at" in two different situations. Questions 5 and 6 are a pair as well: the person who laughs versus the thing that is funny.

1. Say "We all laughed when we heard my friend's story."

Show answer

友ともだちの話はなしを聞きいて、みんなで笑わらった。 — 笑わらった is the plain past tense of 笑わらう, and 聞きいて gives the cause.

2. Say "He always makes everyone laugh."

Show answer

彼かれは、いつもみんなを笑わらわせる。 — 笑わらわせる is the causative: he causes others to laugh, so みんなを is the object.

3. Say "You shouldn't laugh at other people's failures."

Show answer

人ひとの失敗しっぱいを笑わらってはいけない。 — 〜を笑わらう is the mocking "laugh at", and 〜てはいけない means "must not".

4. Say "Everyone laughed at me."

Show answer

みんなに笑わらわれた。 — 笑わらわれた is the passive: the doer (みんな) takes に, and the sentence carries a "that hurt a little" feeling. This is the pair to question 3.

5. Say "I laughed because he said it with a straight face." (laugh, can't help it)

Show answer

真面目まじめな顔かおで言いうから、笑わらっちゃった。 — 笑わらっちゃった is the casual 笑わらってしまった, "I couldn't help it".

6. Say "This video is hilarious."

Show answer

この動画どうが、めっちゃ笑わらえる。 — 笑わらえる describes the thing that makes you laugh. This is the pair to question 5, where a person did the laughing.

7. Say "I burst out laughing watching that show."

Show answer

その番組ばんぐみを見みて、爆笑ばくしょうした。 — 爆笑ばくしょう is the strongest everyday word for laughing out loud, and it works as する-verb.

8. Say "I could only give a wry smile at the teacher's words."

Show answer

先生せんせいの言葉ことばに、苦笑にがわらいするしかなかった。 — 苦笑にがわらい is the awkward smile, and 〜するしかない means "have no choice but to".

9. Say "Everyone was roaring with laughter."

Show answer

みんなゲラゲラ笑わらっていた。 — ゲラゲラ is the sound word for loud, hearty laughing, placed right before 笑わらう.

10. Fix: この映画えいがは笑わらう。 (You mean "This movie is funny.")

Show answer

この映画えいがは笑わらえる。 — A movie can't do the laughing, so use 笑わらえる, which describes the thing that makes you laugh. It is the same split as questions 5 and 6.

FAQ

How do you say "laugh" in Japanese? 笑わらう (わらう).

Is 笑わらう "laugh" or "smile"? Both. Context decides, and 微笑ほほえむ (ほほえむ) is the gentler "smile".

What does 〜を笑わらう mean? "Laugh at" someone or something, often with a mocking feeling.

What is the difference between 笑わらう and 笑わらえる? 笑わらう is the act of laughing. 笑わらえる usually means "funny enough to make you laugh".

What does 爆笑ばくしょう mean? To burst out laughing, or a big laugh.

What does 草くさ or w mean online? "Lol". Each w is the first letter of 笑わらい (warau), and 草くさ is a long row of w.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab.

笑う	わらう — to laugh; to smile
微笑む	ほほえむ — to smile gently
笑顔	えがお — smiling face
笑わせる	わらわせる — to make someone laugh
笑われる	わらわれる — to be laughed at
笑える	わらえる — funny; can laugh
笑っちゃう	わらっちゃう — can't help laughing
爆笑	ばくしょう — burst out laughing
大笑い	おおわらい — a big laugh
苦笑い	にがわらい — wry smile
笑い話	わらいばなし — funny story
お笑い	おわらい — comedy
漫才	まんざい — comedy duo act
ゲラゲラ	ゲラゲラ — roaring laughter
クスクス	クスクス — giggling
ニヤニヤ	ニヤニヤ — smirking
草	くさ — lol (slang)

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime. 笑わらうな! and 何なにがおかしい? are the lines you will hear again and again in anime, and 笑わらう versus 笑わらえる is the pair learners most often mix up. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or try the Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N4 · Read something at this level: JLPT N4 stories with audio

More “Action Words: Japanese Verbs One at a Time” articles →

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