Chinese word

微笑

Pronunciation

Pinyinwēi xiào

Meaning

  • verbsmile

Example

她对我微笑了。tā duì wǒ wēi xiào le

She smiled at me.

Illustration for 微笑 (smile)

More examples

看到孩子们玩耍，他不由得微笑起来。kàn dào hái zi men wán shuǎ tā bù yóu de wēi xiào qǐ lái

When he saw the children playing, he could not help but start to smile.

Core concept

A soft facial signal that quietly marks a friendly or approving response.

Common phrases

  • 对他微笑duì tā wēi xiào

    smile at him

  • 微笑着wēi xiào zhe

    be smiling

  • 微笑起来wēi xiào qǐ lái

    start to smile

Similar words

笑xiào: Shows happiness or amusement with audible laughter or a strong facial expression.
大笑dà xiào: Laughs with a loud voice and great force because something seems very funny.
嘲笑cháo xiào: Makes fun of someone by laughing at them with contempt.

Definition in Chinese

用轻柔或短暂的表情表示善意、同情或认可的动作，通常不伴随大声或夸张的表情。yòng qīng róu huò duǎn zàn de biǎo qíng biǎo shì shàn yì tóng qíng huò rèn kě de dòng zuò tōng cháng bú bàn suí dà shēng huò kuā zhāng de biǎo qíng

Word origin

In 微笑 (wēixiào, "smile"), 微 (wēi, "slight") narrows the force of 笑 (xiào, "laugh"), creating the sense of a subdued smile.

Usage tips

  • The word fits both real-time interaction and written scene descriptions, which makes it a useful choice when a social response is visible but no spoken reply is reported.

Opposites

  • 皱眉zhòu méifrownverb
  • 怒视nù shìscowlverb

Word lists with this word