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
These are just letters in English. They have absolutely no meaning in English.
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!
{ 6 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.