The phrasal verb “make fun of” looks like such an easy combination of words to an English native speaker, but in Chinese it spurs a whole myriad of potential translation options. I came across another great semantic thread when faced with translating it and I’d like to share the Top Ten here.
1. 戏弄 xìnòng
Activated meanings: √ make fun √ play a trick on √ tease √ prank
Register: Neutral
Applies to: People （人）
Examples found on Baidu:
爱她就应该保护她啊，为什么要戏弄她呢。— If you love her you should protect her – why do you have to make fun of her?
我们又戏弄了他一会儿，但不忍心继续恶作剧。— We teased him again, but could not bear to go ahead with the prank.
2. 损（人） sǔn (rén)
Activated meanings: √ make fun √ damage √ ridicule
Register: Colloquial （口）
Applies to: People （人）, things （事）
Examples found on Baidu:
听 说艾可亚武汉日语培训学校很垃圾，是不是有人故意损他们？— I heard the Aqua Japanese School in Wuhan is rubbish – could it be that someone is just intentionally trying to damage their reputation?
[双语]美国偶像评委经典损人语录 — Classic Quotes of Ridicule from American Idol Judges (Bilingual)
损人不利己。— To harm others without getting anything good from it for yourself.
3. 讽刺 fěngcì
Activated meanings: √ satirise √ mock √ ridicule √ make fun √ tease
Register: Literary （书）
Applies to: People （人）, things （事）
Examples found on Baidu:
很多动人的故事其实都在讽刺这个社会。— Many touching stories in fact satirise this society.
这 类型人很多事情第一直觉就说出来了，不管是好坏都是有话直说，而不是有意要讽刺对方，可是在别人耳中听了会很刺耳。— These kind of people say the first thing that comes to their mind, regardless of whether it’s good or bad. Though they have no intention to mock the other person, they end up hurting them in the process.
4. 讥讽 jīfěng
Activated meanings: √ satirise √ mock √ ridicule √ make fun √ tease
Register: Literary （书）
Applies to: People （人）, things （事）
Examples found on Baidu:
你的朋友总讥讽你该怎么办？— What do you do when your friend(s) always make fun of you?
捷克民众讥讽美国政府寻找战争藉口如同儿戏。— It’s child’s play for the Czechs to satirise the American government seeking a pretext to go to war.
5. 嘲笑 cháoxiào
Activated meanings: √ make fun √ tease √ laugh at
Register: Neutral
Applies to: People （人）
Examples found on Baidu:
只 要你自己的心態好，盡自己的能力去做一些有用的事，那麼他們不會嘲笑你的，而且要相信你自己能行！— As long as you’ve got the right mentality, and you’re putting your energy into something worthwhile, they won’t be able to make fun of you and will have confidence in your abilities!
他们的嘲笑，只能让我们更强大。— Their teasing can only make us stronger.
6. 取笑 qǔxiào
Activated meanings: √ make fun √ tease √ laugh at
Register: Neutral
Applies to: People （人）
Examples found on Baidu:
当别人取笑你的时候，你应该学会一笑了之 。— When people make fun of you, you must learn how to laugh it off.
世界上很多人他们喜欢以取笑人为乐。— Many people around the world enjoy laughing at others for their own pleasure.
7. 挖苦 wāku
Activated meanings: √ speak sarcastically or ironically √ make fun √ ridicule
Register: Neutral
Applies to: People （人）
Examples found on Baidu:
面对情敌的挖苦你会怎么做？— What you do you when a rival in love ridicules you?
她为什么老挖苦我，让我难堪？— Why does she always make fun of me and make me feel so embarrassed?
8. 开玩笑 kāiwánxiào
Activated meanings: √ make fun √ joke around about someone
Register: Colloquial （口）
Applies to: People （人）, things （事）
Examples found on Baidu:
别拿我开玩笑。— Don’t make fun of me.
为什么不能拿农民开玩笑？— Why can’t you make jokes about peasants?
他拿我的國家開玩笑 。— He made fun of my country.
9. 开涮 kāishuàn
Activated meanings: √ make fun √ prank √ play a trick on √ tease
Register: Colloquial （口）; Northern Mandarin （北方）
Applies to: People （人）, things （事）
Examples found on Baidu:
印度想拿中国“开涮”？为何抵制中国制造？— Does India wish to play a trick on China? Why did it boycott Chinese manufacturing?
华裔笑星黄西拿美国总统“开涮”。— Foreign Chinese comedian Huang Xi makes fun of the U.S. president.
10. Others
There are also a few other translations I came across in my travels but I’m not sure if they are used all that often or are even accurate:
- 耻笑 chǐxiào
- 打哈哈 dǎhāha
- 讥笑 jīxiào
- 讪笑 shànxiào
- 哂笑 shěnxiào
- 嘻/嬉笑 xīxiào
Perhaps someone can tell me in the comments! Cheers.
调侃（tiao 2 kan3）
打趣儿 （da3 qu4）
戏谑 （xi4 xue4）
讥笑 is similar to 嘲笑. basically they are synonyms
打哈哈: If someone raises an embarrassing question to you, you say something not directly answer that question or just say some irrelevant things, or even laugh it off, what you are doing is 打哈哈。
例子：1.记者向她提了个尖锐的问题，她没有回答，而是打了个哈哈。
2.直接回答问题，别打哈哈。
What you do is called 打哈哈, but when you actually put it into a sentence to indicate what you do, normally we will say 打了个哈哈(I have no idea whether I explain it clearly, 哈哈。)
Actually, nowadays we prefer 打太极, which means you answer indirectly to an embarrassing question. However, if you laugh the question off, 打太极 can’t be used.
例子：1.记者向她提了个尖锐的问题，她没有回答，而是打起了太极。
2.直接回答问题，别打太极。
讪笑 and 哂笑 are dated words, I even can’t tell their meanings explicitly.
嬉笑 as an independent word, it is used usually to describe a situation that children play happily together. In other cases, it is combined with 怒骂 to form a 成语 “嬉笑怒骂”, which literally means laugh merrily or curse angrily. 嬉笑怒骂 itself is often used in a set phrase “嬉笑怒骂,皆成文章” to describe a good writer who is capable of writing any kind and topic of articles.
Thanks for that reply, very interesting and helpful!
捷克民众讥讽美国政府寻找战争藉口如同儿戏。— It’s child’s play for the Czechs to satirise the American government seeking a pretext to go to war.
I have a question about this translation.
Does child’s play mean an easy or trivial thing? If it does, the English translation may not be right.
“Child’s play” means a task that is easily accomplished. Does that differ significantly from 儿童戏?
Yes, they are different. 儿童戏 is a drama targeting children.
捷克民众讥讽美国政府寻找战争藉口如同儿戏。 This sentence means the Czechs satirise that the American government’s seeking for a pretext to go to war is childish.
I don’t know the characters, but you can say “ni3 zai4 dou4 wo3 ma?”, which translates to “are you teasing me?”