笑う（わらう）
JLPT N5 · Godan verb (Group 1)
Pitch accent: heiban (flat) — starts low, stays high, no drop
Meaning: to laugh / smile
Conjugation
| Form | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| masu-form (polite) | 笑います | わらいます |
| te-form | 笑って | わらって |
| ta-form (past) | 笑った | わらった |
| nai-form (negative) | 笑わない | わらわない |
| potential form | 笑える | わらえる |
See the full conjugation table for "笑う" →
Example sentences
- 彼の冗談を聞いてみんな笑った。 — Everyone laughed at his joke.
- 赤ちゃんがにっこり笑った。 — The baby gave a big smile.
Idioms & proverbs containing “笑う”
- 笑う門には福来る (わらうかどにはふくきたる) — laugh and grow fat; good fortune and happiness will come to the home of those who smile
- 今泣いた烏がもう笑う (いまないたからすがもうわらう) — a child's emotions change easily; the bird that cried now laughs
- 一銭を笑う者は一銭に泣く (いっせんをわらうものはいっせんになく) — take care of the penny; he who makes fun of one sen will cry at one sen
- 一円を笑う者は一円に泣く (いちえんをわらうものはいちえんになく) — take care of the penny; he who makes fun of one yen will cry at one yen
- 最後に笑う者が最もよく笑う (さいごにわらうものがもっともよくわらう) — he who laughs last, laughs best
- 明日のことを言えば鬼が笑う (あすのことをいえばおにがわらう) — nobody knows the morrow; speak of tomorrow and the ogres laugh
Related words
See it used in real works
- Example sentences from Japanese novels & web fiction (Massif)
- Hear “笑う” pronounced in real videos (YouGlish)