How to Write 笑 (xiào) — Meaning “To laugh or smile”

Picture bamboo leaves (⺮) forming a big smile above a person (夭) who is laughing so hard they are tilting their head. The top looks like two eyes and a happy mouth, and the bottom looks like a body shaking with laughter. This visual story helps you remember both the shape and the meaning.

Write the bamboo radical first as two side‑by‑side components, keeping it narrow and balanced. The bottom part 夭 begins with a left‑falling stroke, then a horizontal stroke, then a shorter left‑falling, and finally a right‑falling stroke. A common mistake is making the bamboo radical too wide, which makes the character look unbalanced.

The key difference is the bottom part: 笑 has 夭 (a person laughing), 笔 has 毛 (hair/fur for a brush), and 笨 has 本 (root/trunk). Visually, 夭 looks like a person with arms, 毛 has a fluffy tail shape, and 本 looks like a tree with a horizontal line. Their meanings are also completely different: laugh vs. pen vs. stupid.

笑 is used for laughing or smiling, as in 微笑 (wēi xiào, gentle smile) and 玩笑 (wán xiào, joke). In Chinese culture, smiling is common in polite greetings, but laughing very loudly in public may be considered impolite. The word 笑容 (xiào róng) describes a happy facial expression often seen in friendly interactions.

Common words containing 笑 include: 玩笑 (wán xiào) — joke; 微笑 (wēi xiào) — smile; 笑容 (xiào róng) — Smile or smiling expression.