A Ranking Of International Typed Laughter

    "Jajajaja," "hahahahah," or "hhhhhhhh." Which will reign supreme?

    Ahmed Ali Akbar
    by Ahmed Ali Akbar

    BuzzFeed Staff

    12. "hahahahaha" and "hehehehehe" — English and other languages

    ABC / Via giphy.com

    How it works: "Hahahaha" is how many romance language speakers render laughter into an onomatopoeia. If you're a native English speaker, this is intuitive to you, but it's not the only way to write laughter online!

    Every single example on this list is fantastic (because laughing kicks ass), but "hahahaha" clocks in at last just because it's so vanilla. Could use some spice, you know?

    "Hahahaha" is used around the world in countries where English isn't the primary language as well. Mandarin renders laughter as 哈哈 or 呵呵 ("ha ha" or "he he"), which is pretty similar.

    11. "hihihihihihihihi" — Vietnamese (and other languages)

    Via butlercat.tumblr.com

    How it works: It's the same as English "hahaha" but with the vowels switched up!

    This is a pretty adorable way of laughing. Like a little baby's giggle. I love it. It's pretty close to "hahaha," but it's interesting how much vowels can vary between languages.

    10. "55555555555" — Thai

    NBC / Via giphy.com

    How it works: In Thai, "5" is pronounced "ha" online.

    I appreciate "5555" for being a big middle finger to other languages that use letters for laughter. But my English language-oriented brain can't seem to figure out how it would sound! It's a little...cold maybe? I imagine it being that "FFFFFFFFPT" sound you make when someone says something so obviously dumb or inappropriate. I like you 5555, for doing your own thang.

    9. "wwww" — Japanese

    Tokyo Movie Shinsha / Via img4.wikia.nocookie.net

    How it works: "Warai" is the Japanese word for laughter and is often shortened to "www."

    The "wwwwwwwww" is a little confusing for my brain, but I dig how it's a non-phonetic way of writing laughter online. Like imagine if we just wrote LLLLLLLLLLLLL instead of LOL. That would be kind of amazing, right?

    LAUGH LAUGH LAUGH LAUGH LAUGH!

    8. "חחח/ההה" (khkhkhkhkhkhkhkhkh) — Hebrew

    View this video on YouTube
    youtube.com

    How it works: The letter "ח" is prounced "kh." Some sources also render it as "xaxaxa."

    So I obviously don’t have an immediate reaction to the Hebrew letter itself as I can’t read Hebrew, but I’m totally geeked that "khkhkh" is basically the phonetic description of how Mr. T laughs. Take a gander; it’s undeniable right?

    7. "xaxaxaxa" — Greek

    Hanna-Barberra / Via giphy.com

    How it works: "X" in Greek is pronounced like the English "h," so it's the phonetic equivalent of "hahahaha!"

    Big fan of the letter X. Objectively, it's one of the most sizzling letters in Roman script. It's shapely with an aura of danger. So, yeah, I'm a stan for "xaxaxaxa." In my head, I read it kind of like "zazazaza" even though I know that's wrong.

    6. "wakakakakaka" or "wkwkwkwkwk" — Indonesia

    Steelhouse Productions / Via prostheticknowledge.tumblr.com

    How it works: No idea, but according to this redditor, that's how Indonesians laugh online. Likely an onomatopoeia.

    This is basically the sound that Pac-Man makes. And who can hate that? Pac-Man's always pumped to be alive. Wakakakakakakaka!

    5. "huehuehue" — Brazillian Portuguese

    Via pandawhale.com

    How it works: The Brazillian onomatopoeia for laughing!

    "Huehuehue" is so joyful and fat. It makes me think of an old grandpa laughing after he told his grandkids a cheesy joke.

    4. "kekekekekekeke" - Korean

    Nickelodeon / Via giphy.com

    How it works: In Korean, "ㅋㅋㅋ" is "keu keu keu" and means the same thing as "hahaha."

    The Korean form of laughter strikes fear in my heart, mostly because it was usually followed by "zerg rush ^_^" and a loss in Starcraft against a preternaturally talented Korean teenager. So it's terrifyingly menacing while also somehow being kind of cute??

    3. “rsrsrs,” “hashuashuashuashua,” “rá!,” and “kkkkk” — Portuguese

    Via monsterpages.tumblr.com

    "RSRSRSRS" looks like someone saying "R U SRS" over and over again and I think that is wonderful. Like the most disbelieving-est laughter ever. "Hashuashuashuashua" is like mashing on the keyboard at someone's stupidity. And "rá!" just seems supportive AF. Good job Portuguese.

    2. "هههههههههههه" or "hhhhhhhhhhhh" — Arabic, also used in Kurdish

    Via reddit.com

    How it works: Arabic doesn't have short vowels, so only the "h" is necessary for it to read as "hahahahaha." It could also theoretically be read as "hihihihi" or "huhuhuhuhu."

    I have a soft spot for this one. There's something so mirthful and full of life AND death about the lonely "h." Like, it's the kind of laughter that comes from gritted teeth as you laugh your last laugh.

    1. "jajajajajaja" — Spanish

    Via giphy.com

    How it works: In Spanish, the letter "j" is pronounced like the English "h."

    "Jajajaja" occupies a special place in my heart, mostly due to the AIM conversations I had with a gorgeous Mexican exchange student in high school. I was like, "Wait, what?" when she typed "jajaja" in response to my terrible jokes. But then I realized, the "hahaha" I had taken for granted my entire life on the internet was not universal. That was beautiful and so was she.