Meet 笑 in 笑う, 笑顔 and 笑い. Read each complete word in its context.

The idea

笑 has 10 strokes; follow the linked KanjiVG diagram. Compare 笑う（わらう） and 笑顔（えがお）: learn each reading with the whole word.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
笑うわらうEveryone laughed when they heard the friend’s story.
笑顔えがおThe children waved with smiling faces.
笑いわらいThe venue was filled with laughter.

Examples

  • 友達ともだちの話はなしを聞きいて、みんな笑わらいました。Everyone laughed when they heard the friend’s story.
  • 面白おもしろい映画えいがを見みて笑わらいました。I laughed while watching a funny film.
  • 子こどもたちは笑顔えがおで手てを振ふりました。The children waved with smiling faces.
  • 彼女かのじょの笑顔えがおを見みて安心あんしんしました。I felt relieved when I saw her smile.
  • 会場かいじょうは笑わらいに包つつまれました。The venue was filled with laughter.
  • その話はなしが笑わらいを誘さそいました。The story drew laughter.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

笑う is the verb “laugh”, 笑い is laughter, and 笑顔 is a smiling face. Learn 笑顔 as the whole word えがお: its reading is not わらがお.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 笑う in hiragana.

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    わらう

    笑う is read わらう. In context: Everyone laughed when they heard the friend’s story.

  2. Write the reading of 笑顔 in hiragana.

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    えがお

    笑顔 is read えがお. In context: The children waved with smiling faces.

  3. Fill in the missing kanji: ＿い（わらい）.

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    笑

    笑 completes 笑い, read わらい. In context: The venue was filled with laughter.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 笑 from memory, and read 笑う and 笑顔 aloud. Then make a sentence with one of them.