Norm Writes
  • Home
  • Who in the World
  • Blog
  • Postcards
  • Why I write

We "LOL" but they "JaJaJa," "555" and "MDR." How laughter is expressed around the world.

2/24/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
​In English and many western languages, we express laughter in writing as “Hahahaha," which is onomatopoeia for the actual sound of laughter. But around the world, many cultures and countries describe their laughter differently. But though our chuckles, giggles, and hysterics may be foreign, the joyful sentiment is the same for all human beings! 

Here are some examples of how people express laughter in writing around the world:
 
哈哈 or 呵呵 
China (Mandarin)
ha ha” or “he he” Similarly, xixi, 嘻嘻, suggests giggling.
 
hihihihihihihihi
Vietnam
 
55555555555
Thailand
In Thai,the number “5” is pronounced “ha” online.
 
wwww
Japan
 “Warai” is the Japanese word for laughter and is often shortened to “www.”
 
חחח/ההה (khkhkhkhkhkhkhkhkh)
Hebrew
The letter “ח” is prounced “kh," which is how they hear laughter
 
xaxaxaxa
Greece
 “X” in Greek is pronounced like the English “h,” so it’s the phonetic equivalent of “hahahaha!”
 
wakakakakaka or wkwkwkwkwk
Indonesia
 
huehuehue
Brazil
 
kekekekekekeke
Korea
In Korean, “ㅋㅋㅋ” is “keu keu keu” and means the same thing as “hahaha.”
 
rsrsrs, hashuashuashuashua, rá!, and kkkkk
Portugal
 
هههههههههههه or hhhhhhhhhhhh 
Arabic, and also used in Kurdish
Arabic doesn’t have short vowels, so only the “h” is necessary for it to read as “hahahahaha.”
 
 jajajajajaja
Spanish
In Spanish, the letter “j” is pronounced like the English “h.”
   
hi hi, hæ hæ, ho ho, ti hi 
Denmark
 
hehe, híhí
Iceland
 
хаха, hihi хихи, hèhè хехе
Russia

LWKMD
Nigeria
In Nigerian pidgen slang, this stands for  Laugh Wan Kill Me Die, similar to lmfao in the U.S,

MDR
France
The French equivalent of "LOL" is "MDR," which means "mort de rire," or "dying of laughter!"

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed


      Receive a digital postcard from Norm every month:

    Yes, I want a postcard!

    Don't miss Norm's new book,
    The Queens of Dragon Town!

    See More

    Norm Schriever

    Norm Schriever is a best-selling author, expat, cultural mad scientist, and enemy of the comfort zone. He travels the globe, telling the stories of the people he finds, and hopes to make the world a little bit better place with his words.   

    Norm is a professional blogger, digital marketer for smart brands around the world,  and writes for the Huffington Post, Hotels.com, and others.

    Check out South of Normal his Amazon.com best-selling book about life as an expat in Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

    Cambodia's School of Hope explores education and empowerment in impoverished Cambodia, with 100% of sales going to that school.

    The Book Marketing Bible provides 99 essential strategies for authors and marketers.

    Pushups in the Prayer Room, is a wild, irreverent memoir about a year backpacking around the world.  

    Follow Norm on Twitter @NormSchriever or email any time to say hi!

    Categories

    All
    Advice For Writers
    Amazon
    American Exceptionalism
    Anthropology
    Asia
    Backpack
    Basketball
    Best Seller Lists
    Blogging
    Book-marketing
    Book Review
    Book Reviews
    Cambodia
    Charity
    Child-poverty
    Cloud 9
    Communications
    Costa Rica
    Crazy-asia
    Culture
    Dumaguete
    Education
    Environment
    Ethics In Writing
    Expatriate
    Favorite Song
    Festivals
    Fraternity
    Funny
    Future
    Geography
    Give A Photo
    Giveaway
    Giving Back
    Health
    Heroes
    History
    Hugo Chavez
    Human Rights
    Humor
    India
    Islands
    Itunes
    Laugh
    Maps
    Marijuana
    Martial Arts
    Memoir
    Music
    Nature
    Nicaragua
    Non Violence
    Non-violence
    Ocean
    One Love
    One-love
    Our World
    Philanthropy
    Philippines
    Population
    Positive
    Positivity
    Postcard
    Poverty
    Pura Vida
    Pushups In The Prayer Room
    Race
    Reviews
    Safety
    San Juan Del Sur
    Science
    Screenplay
    Self Publish
    Siargao
    Social Media
    Southeast-asia
    South Of Normal
    Speech
    Sri Lanka
    Story
    Surf
    Surfing
    Tamarindo
    Thailand
    The Philippines
    The-queens-of-dragon-town
    Tourism
    Travel
    United Nations
    Venezuela
    Work From The Beach
    World Health
    Writers Forum
    Writing
    Writing Forum
    Writing Your First Book

    Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

Norm Schriever

Email:     hi@NormSchriever.com