Chinese phrases
How to say funny in Chinese
Funny in Chinese is 好笑 (hǎo xiào) for something that makes you laugh. For a funny person, say 幽默 (yōu mò) or, with friends, 逗 (dòu).
好笑
funny
Ways to say funny
好笑
Everydayfunny
A joke, a story, a video that makes you laugh: 太好笑了, “that’s so funny.”
搞笑
Everydayfunny; comic
For things made to be funny, such as 搞笑视频, “funny videos,” and for people who clown around: 他很搞笑.
逗
With friendsfunny; amusing (a person)
A person who makes you laugh with what they say or do: 你太逗了, “you’re hilarious.”
幽默
Everydayhumorous; a sense of humor
A person’s humor, as praise: 他很幽默, “he’s funny.” It describes the person, not one joke.
有意思
Everydayinteresting; fun
Interesting or fun, not laugh-out-loud: a fun class, a good film, an odd fact.
笑死我了
TextingI’m dying (of laughter)
In chats and among friends, the way English writes “LOL, I’m dying.” Often short: 笑死. Or just 哈哈哈.
Common mistakes
可笑 as a compliment
可笑 (kě xiào) usually means ridiculous, worth laughing at. 你的想法很可笑 is an insult. For a fun idea, say 有意思.
“Funny” meaning strange
“That’s funny, my keys were here” is not about laughing. Chinese says 奇怪, “strange”: 奇怪，我的钥匙刚才还在这里.
有意思 after a joke
有意思 means interesting, so after a joke it sounds polite rather than amused. If you laughed, say 太好笑了 or just 哈哈哈.
A cat video
你看这个视频，笑死我了。
Leon: Watch this video, I’m dying.
哈哈哈，太好笑了！
Qiqi: Hahaha, that’s so funny!
这只猫太逗了。
Leon: This cat is hilarious.
还有吗？
Qiqi: Got any more?
