Chinese word

前仰后合

Pronunciation

Pinyinqián yǎng hòu hé

Meaning

  • idiomlaugh heartily

Example

听了他的故事，大家都前仰后合。tīng le tā de gù shì dà jiā dōu qián yǎng hòu hé

After hearing his story, everyone laughed heartily.

Illustration for 前仰后合 (laugh heartily)

More examples

孩子们看见那个玩具时笑到前仰后合。hái zi men kàn jiàn nà ge wán jù shí xiào dào qián yǎng hòu hé

When the children saw that toy, they laughed until they rocked back and forth.

Core concept

A burst of laughter makes people bend and sway as they lose control of their bodies.

Common phrases

  • 笑到前仰后合xiào dào qián yǎng hòu hé

    laugh so hard one rocks back and forth

  • 被逗得前仰后合bèi dòu de qián yǎng hòu hé

    be amused into rocking with laughter

Similar words

捧腹大笑pěng fù dà xiào: Laughing loudly while clutching the stomach.
开怀大笑kāi huái dà xiào: Laughing freely and warmly from a feeling of genuine joy.
哄然大笑hōng rán dà xiào: A sudden burst of loud laughter from people at a gathering.
哄堂大笑hōng táng dà xiào: Loud laughter erupting throughout an entire room at once.

Definition in Chinese

形容因极其好笑而捧腹或前后翻滚般大笑的样子。xíng róng yīn jí qí hǎo xiào ér pěng fù huò qián hòu fān gǔn bān dà xiào de yàng zi

Word origin

前 (qián, "front") + 仰 (yǎng, "look upward") + 后 (hòu, "back") + 合 (hé, "come together") form a picture of a body rocking between forward and backward positions during intense laughter.

Usage tips

  • The idiom commonly appears after the event that causes laughter, so a sentence can first give the joke or story and then describe the listeners' reaction.

Other meanings

  • roll with laughteridiom
  • laugh uproariouslyidiom

Opposites

  • 哭丧着脸kū sāng zhe liǎnpull a long faceidiom

Word lists with this word