笑 — “laugh / smile” in Japanese

Grade 4しょう, わら, え

Radical ⽵ · radical 118 The building block this kanji is filed under

“laugh / smile” in Japanese is 笑, read shou, wara, e (しょう, わら, え). It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 笑う (to laugh).

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What does 笑 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	笑
Meaning	laugh / smile
Readings	しょう, わら, え
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	笑う (to laugh)

How to read 笑

笑 is read shou (しょう) or wara (わら) or e (え) depending on the word.

Words with 笑

笑顔えがお
笑うlaugh / smile
嘲笑

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Kanji read the same way as 笑

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

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Updated: 2026-08-28