World Laughter Day

Tickling the funny bone online, Asian style

Laughter, they say, is the best medicine. But in the digital age, expressing amusement online can be a challenge. This World Laughter Day, we explore how Asians are adding a unique twist to their online chuckles.

While “haha” and “LOL” are familiar sights everywhere, Asian internet users have developed a vibrant lexicon for expressing laughter virtually.

With just text on a screen, how do you convey something funny? There are many manners to express laughter online, but here are some little tips on how to do it in an Asian way this World Laughter Day.

Filipino

Well, honestly speaking, Filipinos, when it comes to expressing themselves online might be a little dramatic. And in terms of expressing our happiness, we can list a hundred ways to show that something tickled our funny bone. Haha will never be enough as we often do it in “HAHAHA” if we find it funny or “SDFJSKDFJ” is not a typo but an extreme way to show that we are rolling on the floor laughing behind our screens.

Thai

When Thai dramas dominated during the time of the pandemic, we often saw Thai actors commenting or tweeting “555”. And we found it weird to see a series of number fives, asking what’s with the number five? Well, in case you don’t know, five in the Thai language is read as “ha”, so, when you come across online “555555555”, it means that the laughing is super intense.

Korean

Whenever we watch a Korean show, may it be a drama or a variety show, we can see the Korean consonant  . To add it to your Korean dictionary,  means “k” which has the same sound as the laughing “ha”, and when used online, both “hhh” ( and “kkk” () represent laughter.

Indonesian

You don’t read it as “W-K-W-K”, but Indonesians use “wkwkwkwk” as their way to show that they are laughing. According to a Quora user, Indonesians adapted the usage of “wkwkwk” from the online games community where online gamers use substitution or shorter words in chatting for faster typing.

Japanese

Guys, it’s not World Wide Web, “www” in Japanese online communication serves as the counterpart to the English “hahaha”, indicating laughter with varying levels of enthusiasm based on the number of ‘w’s used. Using “wwww” to represent laughing comes from the Japanese term “wara ()” which means “to laugh”.

Well, no matter what way you want to express it, may it be a simple emoji or using text, go and laugh out loud. But what’s the most important thing is that you find yourself laughing at something funny, not mocking or insulting someone. HAHA! — Angelica Villanueva