笑う

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 彼女はいつも明るく笑います。▶ —
   She always laughs brightly.
2. おかしくて大声で笑った。▶ —
   It was so funny I laughed out loud.

Collocations

Mnemonic

Warau (笑う) is a godan verb — "to laugh, to smile," exact partner of naku. Cluster: egao (smiling face, beautifier noun), hohoemu (to smile softly), oowarai (big laughter), bakushou (burst of laughter). Two readings: warau (kun, ordinary verb) and shou (on, in Sino-Japanese compounds like bishou 微笑 "smile noun"). Japanese business etiquette codes egao de sekkyaku (smile-faced customer service) as default — the smile is social lubricant. Proverb warau kado ni wa fuku kitaru ("fortune visits laughing households") matches Korean "ut-neun jip-e bok-i on-da" and English "laugh, and the world laughs with you." Note the negative: hito no shippai wo warau (laugh at someone's failure = mock) — context decides.

Quick check

1. What does "egao de sekkyaku" code in Japanese business?

   • Serving customers with a smile — social lubricant, default service manner
   • Loud laughter
   • Mocking the customer (negative)
   • Not smiling in meetings