How To Laugh Online In 20 Languages

Blog

31 March 2022

By Sophia Williams

Unsplash: Abstral Official

Besides a simple “haha” or a cheeky “hehe” could there be other ways of expressing laughter? Hmmm. *thinking emoji*

There are many ways of expressing laughter via text in English-speaking countries like LOL (laugh out loud), LMAO (laughing my apples off), ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing), teehee (hehe), and so on. But do you ever wonder how the rest of the world laughs?

Before you check out our guide on how to laugh online, read our story Fighting Cancer with Laughter in Spanish, Korean, Italian, German, and more to learn how laughter is good for your health.

Ready to LOL your way around the world?

1. Japanese – www

No, no www in Japanese doesn’t refer to the World Wide Web.Www is derived from the Japanese character 笑 (wara) which means to laugh. Instead of saying 笑, many Japanese have found it easier to send “w” or “www.”

Cartoon characters welcoming the new year by playing music

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2. Thai – 555

The number 5 is pronounced as “ha” in Thai. Therefore, 555 means “hahaha.” 555 is equivalent to the English expression of LOL.

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3. Korean – kkk (ㅋㅋㅋ), keukeukeu, hhh (ㅎㅎㅎ)

The Korean consonant ㅋ meaning “k” which has the same sound as the laughing “ha.” When used online, both “hhh” (ㅎㅎㅎ) and “kkk” (ㅋㅋㅋ) represent laughter.

Giphy / The Swoon

4. Russian – xaxaxa

In Russian, the letter “x” is equivalent to the sound “h” or “kh” so xaxa = haha and xaxaxaxa = hahahaha.

Giphy / NickRewind

5. Spanish – jaja

In Spanish, “J” is pronounced as “H.” So laughing in Spanish is expressed as jajaja..

Giphy / Muffin & Nuts

6. Hebrew – xà xà xà, kh-kh-kh, חָה־חָה־חָה

The letter “x” in Hebrew is pronounced as “h.” So, xàxàxà = hahaha, kh-kh-kh = ha-ha-ha, and חָה־חָה־חָה = hahaha.

Giphy / Netflix

7. Chinese – 哈哈, 呵呵, xixi, hei hei, 233

Laughter in Mandarin Chinese is pronounced as xiào shēng. But 哈哈 means haha, 呵呵 means hehe or typing “xixi” or “hei hei” also express laughter. Or, if you want, you could use “233” because on the popular website and chat forum Maopu, emoticon #233 is laughing!

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8. Greek – xaxaxa

The letter “x” in Greek sounds like “h” so xaxaxa = hahaha.

Giphy / Jamkoo

9. Portuguese – huehuehue, rsrsrsrs, kkkk

In Portuguese, laughter can be represented in different ways: huehuehu = hahaha, rsrsrsrs = hahaha, and kkkk = hahahaha. “Rs” is short for risos which means laughter and “kkkk” is short for the laughing sound of “kakaka.”

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10. Danish – haha, hi hi, hæ hæ, ho ho, ti hi

Laughter in Danish can take several forms but they all mean the same thing which is “hahaha.”

Giphy / Identity

11. Icelandic – haha, hehe, híhí

Haha = haha. Hehe = haha. Híhí = haha.

Giphy / NBC

12. French – hahaha, héhéhé, hihihi, hohoho, MDR, PTDR

French people type MDR which means “mort de rire” which translates to “died of laughter” or LOL. Some people also use PTDR which means “broken with laughter.” Pretty extreme! Héhéhé = hahaha. Hihihi = hahaha. Hohoho = hahaha.

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13. Italian – ah ah ah

In Italian, they start with an “a” instead of an “h,” so ah ah ah = hahaha.

Giphy / Nick At Nite

14. Swedish – asg

Asg is short for “asgarv” which means roars of laughter or intense laughter in Swedish slang. Asg = LOL. Asgasgasg = hahahaha.

Giphy / Abba

15. Indonesian – wkwkwkwk

Wkwkwkwk = laugh out loud

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16.Norwegian – hæhæhæ, høhøhø

Hæhæhæ = jajaja. Høhøhø = jajaja.

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17. Ukrainian – бгггггг (bhhhh), гггггг (hhhhhh)

бгггггг (bhhhh) and гггггг (hhhhhh) in Ukrainian mean giggling.

Giphy / Bravest Warriors

18. Turkish – kdkdkdkdkd, sjsjsjsjsjsh, asdfasdfadf

The Turkish way of expressing LOL is typing random letters on the keyboard. Kdkdkdkdkd = LOL. Sjsjsjsjsjsh = LOL. asdfasdfadf = LOL. They have losts of fun with this one!