“Laughing” verbs in Chinese

The article presents an analysis of the semantics of Chinese verbs of joyful laughter. Based on the etymological analysis of the nuclear verb % ‘to laugh’, as well as on the analysis of the semantics of “laughing” verbs, we have revealed such components of the meaning as a cause of laughter, an intensity of laughter, as well as verbal manifestations of laughter, in particular, facial expressions and gestures. It is important to note that the ideographic nature of Chinese characters shapes the transparent internal form of signs of a certain structure, due to which a separate group of verbs - verbs of female laughter - is singled out on the basis of a common subject reflected not only in semantics, but also in the structure of the sign. Contextual combinations of verbs of laughter with onomatopoeic words allow us to talk about a large palette of emotive shades of the verbs of this group and open up prospects for further research.