How to say “laugh” in 32 languages
Every one of these is a word that turns up in ordinary speech, not a dictionary curiosity — the number beside it is where it ranks in that language.
It is commonest in Afrikaans, where lag is the 284th most used word.
- Afrikaans lag to laugh #284
- Albanian qeshur to laugh #701
- Catalan riu to laugh #827
- Chinese 嘲笑 to laugh at; to deride; to jeer; to mock; to… #1,048
- Croatian smijeh laugh, laughter #1,321
- Czech smát to laugh #2,476
- Danish grin to laugh #1,383
- Dutch lachen to laugh #974
- English chuckles A quiet laugh #613
- Esperanto ridas to laugh #1,752
- Estonian naerma to laugh #1,636
- French rire to laugh #1,010
- Galician río to laugh #724
- German lacht to laugh #824
- Hindi हँस to laugh, chuckle #1,874
- Icelandic hlæja to laugh #889
- Indonesian tertawa to laugh #689
- Italian ridere to laugh #1,483
- Lithuanian juoktis to laugh #1,835
- Malay ketawa to laugh; to chuckle #807
- Norwegian ler to laugh #1,442
- Persian خنده laughing; a laugh; laughter #519
- Portuguese rio to laugh #1,175
- Romanian râs to laugh #1,535
- Slovak smiať to laugh #1,252
- Slovenian smeh laugh, laughter #674
- Swedish skratta to laugh #1,615
- Tagalog tawanan to laugh at something or someone #1,118
- Telugu నవ్వు a laugh, laughter #343
- Ukrainian сміх laugh, laughter #2,003
- Urdu ہنسنا to laugh #2,213
- Vietnamese nhạo to laugh at, to mock, to jeer at #2,240
Knowing the word is the easy half.
Using it with someone who speaks the language is the half that sticks.