笑う

Japanese
Kanji in this term
笑
わら
Grade: 4
kun’yomi

Etymology

Derived from verb 割る (waru, “to split, to break, to crack”), as imperfect form wara- + auxiliary verb ふ (fu, indicating repetition or ongoing state: modern verb ending う u): "to be in the act of cracking up / breaking open".[1]

Pronunciation

Alternative forms
  • (to bloom; to ripen): (less common) 咲う
  • (to make fun of): (less common) 嗤う

Verb

笑う (intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana わらう, rōmaji warau, historical hiragana わらふ)

  1. to spontaneously express joy or amusement by means of the voice or facial expression:
    1. to laugh
    2. to smile
      マイクがよく笑 (わら)いますよね。
      Maiku ga yoku waraimasu yo ne.
      Mike laughs / smiles a lot, doesn't he.
  2. to split open (as a plant bud), to bloom
    桜 (さくら)の花 (はな)が笑 (わら)う
    sakura no hana ga warau
    the cherry flowers bloom
  3. to split open from ripening (as fruit or vegetables)
    栗 (くり)が笑 (わら)っている時 (じ)期 (き)
    kuri ga waratte iru jiki
    the season when the chestnuts ripen and split open
  4. (figuratively) to bud, become green and verdant, and bloom in spring (as the landscape)
    山 (やま)の景 (け)色 (しき)が笑 (わら)う
    yama no keshiki ga warau
    the mountain landscape comes alive / quickens / blooms
  5. to come undone (as a stitch or seam)
    縫 (ぬ)い目 (め)が笑 (わら)っている
    nuime ga waratte iru
    the seam is coming open
  6. (slang) to become weak and wobbly (as in the knees)
    膝 (ひざ)が笑 (わら)う
    hiza ga warau
    go wobbly in the knees

笑う (transitive, godan conjugation, hiragana わらう, rōmaji warau, historical hiragana わらふ)

  1. to laugh at, to make fun of, to make a fool of
    ジュディは私 (わたし)を笑 (わら)った。
    Judi wa watashi o waratta.
    Judy laughed at me / made fun of me / made a fool of me.

Conjugation
Conjugation of "笑う" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形) 笑わ わらわ warawa
Continuative (連用形) 笑い わらい warai
Terminal (終止形) 笑う わらう warau
Attributive (連体形) 笑う わらう warau
Hypothetical (仮定形) 笑え わらえ warae
Imperative (命令形) 笑え わらえ warae
Key constructions
Passive 笑われる わらわれる warawareru
Causative 笑わせる
笑わす		 わらわせる
わらわす		 warawaseru
warawasu
Potential 笑える わらえる waraeru
Volitional 笑おう わらおう waraō
Negative 笑わない わらわない warawanai
Negative continuative 笑わず わらわず warawazu
Formal 笑います わらいます waraimasu
Perfective 笑った わらった waratta
Conjunctive 笑って わらって waratte
Hypothetical conditional 笑えば わらえば waraeba

Synonyms
Synonyms

Idioms
Idioms
  • 笑 (わら)う顔 (かお)に矢 (や)立 (た)たず (warau kao ni ya tatazu): "arrows won't pierce a smiling face" → someone approaching in friendship will not be fired upon; a smile will melt away hostility
  • 笑 (わら)う顔 (かお)は打 (う)たれぬ (warau kao wa utarenu): "a smiling face won't get hit" → someone approaching in friendship will not be attacked; a smile will melt away hostility
  • 笑 (わら)う山 (やま) (warau yama): "the smiling mountains" →
  • 笑 (わら)うものは測 (はか)るべからず (warau mono wa hakaru bekarazu): "you can't take the measure of a smiling man" → someone who is always smiling is hard to read, and may thus be more predator than pal: be wary of charmers
  • 笑 (わら)う門 (かど)には福来 (ふくきた)る (warau kado ni wa fuku kitaru): "fortune comes to the smiling door" → happiness brings good luck, laugh and grow fat
  • 笑 (わら)い三 (さん)年 (ねん)泣 (な)き三月 (みつき) (warai sannen naki mitsuki): "laughter three years, crying three months" → a metaphorical rule of thumb for how long it takes to learn proper expression in the traditional 義太夫 (gidayū) style of dramatic recital
  • 笑 (わら)いの内 (うち)に刀 (かたな)を礪 (と)ぐ (warai no uchi ni katana o togu): "to sharpen a sword while laughing / smiling" → to make oneself appear happy while thinking hostile thoughts
  • 笑 (わら)いは人 (ひと)の薬 (くすり) (warai wa hito no kusuri): "laughter is medicine for people" → laughter is the best medicine
  • 笑 (わら)って損 (そん)した者 (もの)なし (waratte son shita mono nashi): "no one's been hurt by smiling" → a smile never hurts
  • 笑 (わら)って損 (そん)するは箔屋 (はくや)ばかり (waratte son suru wa hakuya bakari): "the only one to make a loss on laughing is an embosser" → if an embosser laughs, the gold foil they work with would go flying, but for anyone else, laughter brings good fortune
  • 笑 (わら)って太 (ふと)れ (waratte futore): "laugh and grow fat" → happiness brings good luck
  • 笑 (わら)って暮 (く)らすも一 (いっ)生 (しょう)泣 (な)いて暮 (く)らすも一 (いっ)生 (しょう) (waratte kurasu mo isshō naite kurasu mo isshō); 泣 (な)いて暮 (く)らすも一生笑 (いっしょうわら)って暮 (く)らすも一 (いっ)生 (しょう) (naite kurasu mo isshō waratte kurasu mo isshō): "you can live crying, or live laughing"
  • 笑 (わら)わざれば以 (もっ)て道 (みち)と為 (な)すに足 (た)らず (warawazareba motte michi to nasu ni tarazu): "if it's not laughed at, it's not enough to be the right way" → from the way a fool will laugh when told the way to do something, so if it's not enough for even a fool to laugh at, then it must not have any value at all

Derived terms
Derived terms

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
  5. Yoshinori Kobayashi, Kojisho Ongi Shūsei 1: Shin'yaku Kegonkyō Ongi Shiki (in Japanese), Kyūko Shoin (published 1978; original text from 794), →ISBN.
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