爆笑

• Reading: ばくしょう
• Romaji: bakushō
• Kanji breakdown: 爆 (baku, explosion/burst) + 笑 (shō, laugh/smile) — literally 'explosion laugh,' vividly describing uncontrollable laughter.
• Pronunciation: /ba.ku.ɕoː/

Meaning

Burst out laughing or dying of laughter — an explosive, uncontrollable laugh.

Technically 爆笑 originally meant a group of people laughing together loudly, but modern usage has shifted to mean one person laughing explosively hard. It is one of the most common ways to express intense laughter in Japanese, used constantly on social media, in conversation, and in entertainment. Often appears as 爆笑した or in compound forms like 爆笑もの (hilarious thing).

Examples

1. 友達のモノマネが上手すぎて爆笑した。 My friend's impression was so good I burst out laughing.
2. あの芸人のネタ、電車の中で見て爆笑しちゃった。 I saw that comedian's routine on the train and burst out laughing.
3. 昔の写真見返してたら自分の髪型に爆笑した。 I was looking through old photos and burst out laughing at my own hairstyle.

Usage Guide

Context: friends, social media, comedy reactions

Tone: humorous, energetic, amused

Do Say

• その話爆笑なんだけど！聞いて！ (That story is hilarious! Listen!)
• 深夜に動画見て爆笑して家族に怒られた。 (I burst out laughing at a video late at night and my family got mad at me.)

Don't Say

• 目上の人の失敗に「爆笑」と言うのは失礼 (Saying you 'bakushō'd' at a superior's mistake is rude — sounds like you're mocking them)

Common Mistakes

• Purists may correct you that 爆笑 should only describe group laughter, but individual usage is now standard and universally understood

Origin & History

Composed of 爆 (baku, explosion) and 笑 (shō, laugh). The compound evokes the image of laughter erupting like an explosion. Originally described group laughter but shifted to individual usage in modern times.

Cultural Context

Era: Traditional compound, modern individual usage from 1990s onward

Generation: All ages (universal)

Social background: Universal informal

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan. Extremely common in everyday casual Japanese, both spoken and written.