Chinese word

冷笑

Pronunciation

Pinyinlěng xiào

Meaning

  • verbsneer

Example

听到那话，她忍不住冷笑了起来。tīng dào nà huà tā rěn bú zhù lěng xiào le qǐ lái

Hearing that, she couldn't help sneering.

Illustration for 冷笑 (sneer)

More examples

他对对方的自夸只是冷笑着摇头，并没有反驳。tā duì duì fāng de zì kuā zhǐ shì lěng xiào zhe yáo tóu bìng méi yǒu fǎn bó

He merely sneered and shook his head at the other person's boasting, without arguing back.

Core concept

A cold, pointed smile that dismisses a person or an idea.

Common phrases

  • 冷笑着回应lěng xiào zhe huí yìng

    respond with a sneer

  • 冷笑道lěng xiào dào

    say with a sneer

  • 冷笑着摇头lěng xiào zhe yáo tóu

    shake one's head with a sneer

Similar words

嘲笑cháo xiào: Mocks someone by making them or their actions seem ridiculous.
嘲弄cháo nòng: Teases and insults someone through words or actions.
讥讽jī fěng: Uses cutting, sarcastic words to mock someone while criticizing them.
鄙视bǐ shì: Looks down on someone and treats them as unworthy of respect.

Definition in Chinese

冷淡地笑，带有讥讽和不屑，用来表示对人或观点的否定。lěng dàn dì xiào dài yǒu jī fěng hé bú xiè yòng lái biǎo shì duì rén huò guān diǎn de fǒu dìng

Word origin

冷 (lěng, "cold") + 笑 (xiào, "laugh") combines a cold manner with laughter, forming a word for a laugh that carries contempt.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, describing someone this way can sound openly accusatory, so the word is more natural when reporting a reaction than when offering a neutral description.

Other meanings

  • mockverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word