笑
笑 (xiào) means “to smile”. It is made of ⺮ + 夭 and has 10 strokes, and is an HSK 2 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
Break 笑 into its parts
What 笑 is made of
- ⺮ zhú — bamboo
- 夭 yāo — young
- 丿 — falling stroke
- 大 dà — big
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 人 rén — person
Origin hint: A person 夭 with a big grin ⺮ (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
笑 stroke order
Example sentences
你笑什么？Nǐ xiào shénme?What are you laughing at?
大家都笑了。Dàjiā dōu xiào le.Everyone laughed.
Words with 笑
- 开玩笑kāiwánxiàoto joke
- 笑话xiàohuajoke
- 笑话儿xiàohuarjoke
- 微笑wēixiàoto smile
- 嘲笑cháoxiàoto laugh at
- 讥笑jīxiàoto sneer at
- 好笑hǎoxiàofunny
Also built with ⺮
- 笔bǐpen
- 符fúamulet
- 笨bènstupid
- 第dìordinal prefix (first, second…)
- 笼lóngbasket
- 等děngto wait
- 筋jīnmuscles
- 筐kuāngbasket
- 筑zhùbuilding
- 筒tǒngtube
- 答dáto answer
- 策cèto urge
Quick facts
| Pinyin | xiào |
|---|---|
| Meaning | to smile; laugh |
| Strokes | 10 |
| Radical | 竹 (bamboo, #118) |
| Pattern | Top–bottom |
| HSK | HSK 2 (exam 2025) · HSK 1 (2021) · Old HSK 2 |
Questions about 笑
What does 笑 mean?
笑 (xiào) means “to smile; laugh”.
How many strokes does 笑 have?
笑 has 10 strokes.
What is the radical of 笑?
The radical of 笑 is 竹 (zhú, “bamboo”), Kangxi radical number 118.
What parts make up 笑?
笑 is made of ⺮ (bamboo) and 夭 (young).
Which HSK level is 笑?
笑 is in HSK 2 (exam 2025) and HSK 1 (2021) and Old HSK 2.
Learn 笑 with its group
It is part of HSK 1 (2021) · Group 19: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.