(Photo by falsalama)
Laughing in your language is not the same as laughing in English!
In English, the sound people make when they laugh is written as ha ha ha!
You can use two or more ha in a row to show you are laughing:
Ha ha!
Ha ha ha!
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
However, one ha does not represent laughter. One ha is used when you want to express satisfaction or victory, for example “Ha! I did it. You didn’t think I could do it, but I did!” or “Ha! I told you that would happen.”
Other written forms of laughter:
He he
He he he
hehehehehe
(*Remember, one he is a subject pronoun: He laughs!)Tee hee
(*this is more of a giggle!)Internet shorthand:
LOL! = laugh out loud
ROFL = rolling on the floor laughing
LMAO = laughing my a** off (swear word for bum!)
Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen various ways students laugh in their own language:
jejejejeje!
kkkkkkkk!
rrsrsrsrsrsrsrsrs
ejejejejejejejejejeje
jajajajajajaja
kekekekeke
These are JUST LETTERS in English! They have absolutely NOT meaning in English. No one will understand that this is supposed to be laughter.
Melanie is a TESL-certified English teacher. She lives near Toronto, Canada. Through her blog, videos, podcasts, and social media, she helps thousands of people around the world improve their English. She makes English a little less confusing and a little more fun! She also helps people understand Canadian and American culture. She believes that natural interaction with a native speaker helps people practice what they have learned and builds their confidence with English!
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Very nice! A way people use to laugh on the web here in Brazil is "huahuhauhuhauha". They use many letters together to show they are laughing! =)
Kisses, Joyce.
Thanks, as I know that "jajajajaja" is used by the spanish people to show that they are laughing
I liked to much. Here, in Brazil, when we are texting, we put kkkkkkkkkkkkkkk to laugh
Hi, Joseph!
Actually, that's why I decided to write this post – so many Brazilians were typing 'kkkkkk' that I had to let them know it meant nothing in English!
= )
so nice , i love it
Great! Thank you.
Well, that is just something that’s agreed upon. I don’t think anyone can learn to laugh someone else’s laugh.
Hello Teacher Melanie,
This is my way of laughing: kekeke
:D
Hi, Yasemin!
Those letters mean nothing in English. English speakers will not know that you are using those letters as laughter.
= )
hellow my coach melanie,
okay, now i think we use this way of laughing here in our country heh heh heh hei heh heh heh hei……
thank you very much.
Hi, Djalloul!
In English, ‘heh’ has a different meaning, so you have to be careful when you write/type ‘heh’ in English!
‘Heh’ is an interjection, but it’s only a half-laugh! It’s a very weak form of laughing. It says to the reader that you don’t really think something is funny. I wouldn’t use it in English!
= )
Hello :)
My friend asked me, why is it ‘play a tennis, play a golf’? While it is ‘play soccer, play basketball’. What’s the difference when there is and there isn’t an article ‘a’ in those clauses, Miss?
My other question, how do English native speakers express it when they’re trying to motivate/give support themselves or others, is it “Stay strong”, “Keep spirit”, or..?
Thank you in advance :) I’ll be waiting for your reply..
Hi, Fi!
I am happy to help as many English learners as possible, but the comments here on my blog should be related to the posts. This post is about ‘How to Laugh in English’! and as you can see, all the comments here are about laughter.
If you’d like to ask a question about articles or sports, please look for a related post in the Vocabulary or Grammar sections:
http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/vocabulary/
http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/grammar/
If you can’t find a post related to your question, you can ask questions on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube.
Best regards,
Melanie
= )
We say: haha or hehe or cici in Chinese to express the laugh.
By the way, I like your blogs very much. I’ll follow you to improve my english.
Thank you very much.
Shirley
thats nice hehehhhahahahhhohohohohhahahehoh
i am colombian and we use to write jajajajajajajaja and jejejejejejeje but sometimjes jejeje is very sarcastic adn jajajajajajajaja is because its very hilarious or too funy.
see ya teacher
i am pakistani, we use hahaha…,and really when I read I surly laugh
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Hello, my best teacher MELANIE I am proud of you,, you may be the best teacher of world by this noble work
Interesting! Haha and Hehe, they are the same as in Chinese! ^_^
The way we laugh in Ethiopia?No sound.we finish it in our stomach.
Dear sir
I m interesting this websits. And please send the daily words send me.
Thanking to u
Umair Ahmed
Dear teacher Melanie,
Thank you so much,this is very helpful for us to learn proper English.