The Chinese character 笑 (pronounced xiào) means smile or laugh. It is composed of the radical 竹 (zhú - meaning bamboo) and the character 夭 (yāo - meaning tender or gentle).
In the character 笑, the radical 竹 takes the alternate form of ⺮. The radical supplies the meaning, while the character 夭 (yāo) supplies the sound, making 笑 apictophonetic character.
The relationship between bamboo and laughter may seem a bit vague, but you can imagine the movement of bamboo leaves in the wind as similar to the movement of a person laughing.
When you see the character 笑 in a compound word, it most likely has something to do with humor or laughter, as seen in the vocabulary list below.
Mandarin Vocabulary With Xiào
| Traditional Characters | Simplified Characters | Pinyin | English |
| 暗笑 | 暗笑 | àn xiào | snigger; snicker |
| 爆笑 | 爆笑 | bào xiào | loud laughter |
| 嘲笑 | 嘲笑 | cháo xiào | jeer; mockery; make fun of |
| 咯咯笑 | 咯咯笑 | gē gē xiào | chuckle |
| 好笑 | 好笑 | hǎo xiào | funny |
| 歡笑 | 欢笑 | huān xiào | belly laugh |
| 譏笑 | 讥笑 | jī xiào | sneer at |
| 開玩笑 | 开玩笑 | kāi wán xiào | to play a joke; to make fun of |
| 可笑 | 可笑 | kě xiào | funny |
| 露齒而笑 | 露齿而笑 | lòu chǐ ér xiào | grin |
| 取笑 | 取笑 | qǔ xiào | make fun of |
| 微笑 | 微笑 | wēi xiào | smile |
| 笑話 | 笑话 | xiào huà | joke |
| 笑容 | 笑容 | xiào róng | smile |
| 笑聲 | 笑声 | xiào shēng | laughter |
| 笑語 | 笑语 | xiào yǔ | cheerful talk |
