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苦笑

kǔ xiào

HSK 7–9

Meaning

  • to force a smile
  • a bitter laugh

Definition

因无奈、尴尬或悲伤而勉强发出的笑声。

A forced laugh due to helplessness, embarrassment, or sadness.

Usage

通常形容人在面对不如意或尴尬情境时,用笑来掩饰内心的苦涩或无奈。

Usually describes someone using a laugh to mask inner bitterness or helplessness when facing unpleasant or awkward situations.

Examples

  • 1 他听到这个坏消息,只能苦笑一下。 (He could only force a wry smile upon hearing the bad news.)
  • 2 面对同事的误会,她苦笑不语。 (Facing her colleague's misunderstanding, she gave a wry smile and remained silent.)
  • 3 考试没考好,他对着试卷苦笑摇头。 (After failing the exam, he shook his head with a wry smile at the test paper.)
  • 4 回忆起那段艰辛的岁月,老人苦笑了一声。 (Recalling those hard times, the old man let out a wry laugh.)
  • 5 当被问及为何失败时,他苦笑说‘运气不好’。 (When asked why he failed, he said with a wry smile, 'Bad luck.')
View the full HSK 7–9 vocabulary list

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