Translation guide
How to express 'laugh at' in Japanese, covering mockery, finding something funny, and dismissing with laughter.
To laugh at someone in a mean way, to make fun of them.
The most common verb for 'laugh at' in the sense of mocking or ridiculing. The target is marked with を.
彼は私の失敗を笑った。
He laughed at my mistake.
A stronger, more explicit word for mocking or sneering at someone. Often used in written or formal contexts.
彼らは彼の提案を嘲笑った。
They sneered at his proposal.
Literally 'to make a fool of', this phrase means to ridicule or look down on someone. Very common in speech.
彼はいつも私を馬鹿にする。
He always makes fun of me.
To make someone a laughingstock. Stronger than just laughing at someone.
彼はクラスで笑いものにされた。
He was made a laughingstock in class.
To laugh because something is amusing, without necessarily mocking. Often used with jokes or situations.
Use the particle に to indicate what you are laughing at in a neutral or positive sense (a joke, a funny story).
彼の冗談に笑った。
I laughed at his joke.
その話にみんなが笑った。
Everyone laughed at that story.
Literally 'see and laugh', used when laughing at something you see (a funny video, a silly face).
その動画を見て笑った。
I laughed at that video.
To laugh off a suggestion, threat, or idea, showing you don't consider it important.
To laugh something off, to dismiss with laughter. Common in both speech and writing.
彼は私の心配を笑い飛ばした。
He laughed off my worries.
A formal, literary expression meaning to laugh something away or dismiss it as ridiculous.
彼はその批判を一笑に付した。
He dismissed the criticism with a laugh.
Using を with 笑う often implies mocking or ridiculing the target. Using に with 笑う is more neutral and simply indicates the source of laughter (a joke, a story). Be careful with the particle to avoid unintended rudeness.