嬉笑怒罵

Chinese

amusement laugh; smile indignant scold; abuse
trad. (嬉笑怒罵)
simp. (嬉笑怒骂)
alternative forms 嘻笑怒罵

Etymology

From an eulogy by Huang Tingjian dedicated to Su Shi:

嬉笑怒罵文章紫微玉堂 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
嬉笑怒骂文章紫微玉堂 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
From: 1102, 黃庭堅,東坡先生真贊
Xīxiào nùmà, jiē chéng wénzhāng. Jiě jī ér guī, zǐwēi yùtáng. [Pinyin]
In mirth or wrath, his words weave masterpieces;
From exile freed, he reigns in halls of splendor.

Pronunciation


Idiom

嬉笑怒罵

  1. (literally) merry laughter and angry scolding; (figurative) all kinds of emotions
  2. (of writing, etc.) freely roving; ironic and invective