嘻

譆

xī

口 + 喜

Definitions

xī (interjection) haha; giggle; laugh

xī (interjection) (expressing surprise or admiration)

Etymology

A happy 喜 sound 口; 喜 also provides the pronunciation

About

As a phono-semantic compound, 嘻 combines the semantic radical 口 (mouth) on the left, indicating mouth-related sounds or actions, with the phonetic component 喜 (xǐ, meaning "happy") on the right, which provides both the pronunciation and an associative sense of joy. It originally served primarily as an onomatopoeia for light laughter, giggling, or a sigh of realization. Its usage extends to represent vocalizations of amusement, joy, or mild surprise, and it frequently appears in duplicated forms to convey continuous chuckling or audible delight.

Etymology Hide

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他嘻嘻地笑个不停。

Tā xīxī de xiào gè bù tíng.

He kept giggling incessantly.

妹妹笑嘻嘻地跑了进来。

Mèimei xiàoxīxī de pǎole jìnlái.

Little sister ran in with a beaming smile.

"嘻，你这招对我没用。"他说道。

"Xī, nǐ zhè zhāo duì wǒ méi yòng." Tā shuōdào.

"Hey, that trick won't work on me," he said.

她只是嘻皮笑脸地应付着质问。

Tā zhǐshì xīpíxiàoliǎn de yìngfù zhe zhìwèn.

She just responded to the questioning with a cheeky grin.

众人嘻笑打闹，气氛十分欢乐。

Zhòngrén xī xiào dǎnào, qìfēn shífēn huānlè.

Everyone was laughing and fooling around, the atmosphere was very joyful.

别整天嘻嘻哈哈的，该认真点了。

Bié zhěngtiān xīxīhāhā de, gāi rènzhēn diǎn le.

Stop fooling around all day, it's time to be a bit more serious.

他嘻笑着掩饰自己内心的紧张。

Tā xīxiào zhe yǎnshì zìjǐ nèixīn de jǐnzhāng.

He laughed playfully to hide the nervousness inside.

面对严峻的形势，他那副嘻笑的神情显得格外不合时宜。

Miàn duì yánjùn de xíngshì, tā nà fù xīxiào de shénqíng xiǎndé géwài bù hé shíyí.

Faced with the severe situation, his playful and laughing expression seemed particularly inappropriate.

Related Characters

Component: 口

Component: 喜

嘻