Translation guide
To dismiss something with laughter, treating it as unimportant or not serious.
To treat a problem, criticism, or suggestion as unimportant by laughing about it.
To treat something serious as if it's a joke, often to reduce tension or avoid dealing with it.
To pass something off as a joke and move on, effectively laughing it off.
Directly translating 'laugh off' as 笑いオフ or similar is unnatural. Use the phrases provided.
笑い飛ばす emphasizes actively dismissing something as trivial, while 笑ってごまかす focuses on using laughter to cover up embarrassment or awkwardness.
laugh off criticism (dismiss it)
The most direct equivalent. To laugh something off, dismissing it as trivial.
He laughed off the criticism.
Let's laugh off our failures and move forward.
To laugh it off by deflecting or covering up embarrassment or awkwardness.
She laughed off her mistake.
Literary/formal expression meaning to laugh something off or dismiss with a laugh.
He laughed off the rumor.
He laughed off his gaffe by turning it into a joke.
To laugh it off and consider the matter settled, often implying avoidance.
We can't just laugh off the problem.
失敗を笑ってごまかす
laugh off a mistake (cover it up)