to laugh; to smile
HSK level
笑 is written with 10 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
笑 (xiào) covers what English splits into 'to laugh' and 'to smile' — any pleasant expression involving the mouth turning up, with or without sound.
Context tells you which: 她笑了 can mean 'she smiled' or 'she laughed.' To be specific, Chinese adds another character: 微笑 (wēixiào, 'smile gently'), 大笑 (dà xiào, 'laugh loudly'), 哈哈大笑 ('to roar with laughter'). 笑 also has a darker side — 笑 someone usually means 'to laugh AT' them, i.e.
mock or ridicule: 别笑我 ('don't laugh at me'). Common related words: 开玩笑 (kāi wánxiào, 'to joke / kidding'), 笑话 (xiàohua, 'a joke'), and the warm phrase 笑容 (xiàoróng, 'a smiling expression'). The character contains 竹 (bamboo) on top — bamboo bending the way a face bends in laughter.
她笑得很开心。
Tā xiào de hěn kāixīn.
She is laughing/smiling very happily.
neutral
别笑，我是认真的。
Bié xiào, wǒ shì rènzhēn de.
Don't laugh, I'm serious.
spoken
他喜欢讲笑话。
Tā xǐhuan jiǎng xiàohua.
He likes to tell jokes.
neutral
孩子的微笑很可爱。
Háizi de wēixiào hěn kě'ài.
The child's smile is very cute.
written
Specifically 'to smile (without sound).' Use 微笑 when you want to make clear it's a quiet smile, not a laugh. 笑 alone is ambiguous; 微笑 is precise.
笑容 is the noun 'smile / smiling expression' — what's ON your face. 她脸上有笑容 ('she has a smile on her face'). 笑 is the verb of doing it.
哭 is the opposite — 'to cry.' Both are basic emotion verbs: 笑 (laugh/smile) vs 哭 (cry). The character 哭 has 口 (mouths) and looks like a tearful face.
嘲笑 specifically means 'to mock / ridicule.' 笑 someone CAN mean mock, but in context. 嘲笑 is unambiguous ridicule. Use 嘲笑 in formal writing about bullying or sarcasm.
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