How to Laugh in Portuguese: kkkk, rsrs and Brazilian Expressions

How do you laugh in Portuguese? In a chat, we Brazilians almost always type "kkkk", and sometimes "rsrs", which comes from "risos" (laughs). So if you've been wondering about the kkkk meaning, it's simply our "hahaha" or "lol", and it has nothing to do with the English acronym you might be thinking of. The "k" just imitates the "kah kah kah" sound of a laugh. I explain everything in the section on how to laugh in Portuguese over text.

But laughing in Portuguese goes way beyond WhatsApp. When something is really funny, we say we're "morrendo de rir", "chorando de rir" or "rachando o bico", and each expression has its own level of informality: some you can use with anyone, and others are just for your closest friends.

Here you'll see how Brazilians laugh for real: the chat abbreviations, the expressions for saying you're dying of laughter, the most common comparisons, and example sentences so your Brazilian laugh sounds natural, like someone from Brazil and not like a grammar book.

Video: Different Ways to Laugh in Portuguese

In this video I show you several ways to laugh in Portuguese the way we actually do it in Brazil, with the real pronunciation of each expression. Watch it first and then go over the phrases below, so you'll recognize them when you hear them in a TV show or a conversation.

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Phrases to Practice

The most common expressions for saying you're dying of laughter in Portuguese are "morrer de rir", "chorar de rir", "rolar de rir", "rachar o bico", "cascar o bico" and "dar gargalhada". All of them are used in Brazil, but they vary in intensity and in how casual they are.

Here are some sentences using the different ways to say "I'm dying of laughter" in Portuguese.

CASCANDO O BICO

"Cascar o bico" means laughing out loud without being able to stop. "Bico" is a bird's beak, but in informal Brazilian Portuguese it also means the mouth, so the image is someone laughing with their mouth wide open. It's very informal, perfect among friends.

• Já tô cascando o bico aqui logo no começo do filme.

Different ways to use LOGO in Portuguese.

RACHANDO O BICO

"Rachar o bico" is practically a synonym of "cascar o bico" and means cracking up, since "rachar" literally means to crack or split. It's the more common of the two and works just as well in person as in a WhatsApp message.

• Quando cheguei em casa ela começou a rachar o bico por causa da minha roupa.

DANDO GARGALHADA

"Gargalhada" is a belly laugh in Portuguese, that loud laugh everyone around you can hear. "Dar uma gargalhada" is neutral, so you can use it with anyone; the verb "gargalhar" also exists, but in everyday speech we say "dar gargalhada" more often.

• Você não consegue ser mais discreto? Não tem pra que tá dando essas gargalhadas exageradas chamando atenção de todo mundo.

How to use TUDO and TODO correctly.

MORRENDO DE RIR

"Morrer de rir" is the most common way to say you're dying of laughter in Portuguese, and it's almost a word-for-word match for the English "dying laughing", so it's easy to remember. It's neutral: it works with friends, at work and even in a casual email.

• Elas morreram de rir quando souberam que você acreditou na história.

Learn 20 irregular verbs in Portuguese.

CHORANDO DE RIR

"Chorar de rir" means crying with laughter, when something is so funny that tears start rolling down your face. We Brazilians use it a lot to recommend movies, videos or memes we thought were hilarious.

• Valeu pela recomendação desse filme, ontem passei a noite chorando de rir.

Article in Portuguese: Por que algumas pessoas choram de felicidade ou quando têm crise de riso?

ROLANDO DE RIR

"Rolar de rir" is rolling on the floor laughing, the same idea as "ROFL" in English. It sounds over the top, but we say it all the time, especially over text. It's informal and very common in social media comments when something cracks us up.

• Tô rolando de rir aqui com esse podcast em português.

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CAGANDO DE RIR

"Cagar de rir" (or "se cagar de rir") is the vulgar version of dying of laughter, pretty close to "laughing my ass off" in English. Only use it with friends you're really close to, and if you want to learn other words at this level, check out the most common Brazilian Portuguese swear words.

• Vou te contar uma piada que você vai se cagar de rir.

Bonus: Phrases

• Ri tanto que minha barriga ficou doendo.
• Fiquei sem fôlego de tanto rir.

Article in Portuguese: É possível morrer de tanto rir?

RISADA, RISADINHA, SORRISO

A laugh in Portuguese is "risada", a giggle is "risadinha" and a smile is "sorriso". Be careful with "risadinha": depending on the tone it can sound mocking, a bit like a smirk, which is why in Brazil saying "não gostei dessa risadinha" is almost a warning.

• Não gostei da risada dele.
• Não gostei dessa sua risadinha.
• Não gostei do sorriso dele.

LAUGHTER IN PORTUGUESE

The most common word for a laugh in Portuguese is "risada"; "riso" also exists, but it sounds more formal or written. The verb "to laugh" in Portuguese is "rir", and its present tense is short and a little irregular: "eu rio", "você ri", "nós rimos". Fun detail: "rio" is also the Portuguese word for river, which makes the expression "rindo rios" in the list below easy to remember.

We've already seen some phrases for saying "dying of laughter". Now, if you want to say you're "laughing a lot" in Portuguese, there are a few ways.

• Rindo rios
• Rindo muito
• Rindo à beça
• Rindo alto
• Rindo pra caramba

VARIATIONS OF "LAUGHING SO HARD THAT..."

You'll also see the "laughing so hard that..." variation.

• Rindo até chorar
• Rindo até perder o fôlego
• Rindo até a barriga doer
• Rindo até a alma

COMPARISONS - "laughing like a..."

There are also variations for saying you're "laughing like a..."

• Rindo que nem um condenado
• Rindo que nem um doido
• Rindo que nem uma hiena
• Rindo feito um palhaço

How to use QUE NEM/FEITO in Portuguese.

• Rindo como se não houvesse amanhã

HOW TO LAUGH IN PORTUGUESE OVER TEXT

We Brazilians laugh in chat with "kkkk", which imitates the sound "kah kah kah", and with "rsrs", short for "risos", which is softer and more polite. We don't really type "hahaha" as much as English speakers do, and with "kkkk" the rule is simple: the more k's, the bigger the laugh. And no, it has zero connection to the American hate group KKK. For us it's just the sound of laughing.

You'll see that in Brazil we use these abbreviations all the time when chatting online.

Careful with the verb "CHATEAR" in Portuguese: it looks like "chat", but it actually means to annoy or upset someone.

• kkk (kah-kah-kah)
• rsrs (risos)
• hehehe
• hahaha
• Ashaus (ASHU)
• heuheuhe
• lol (RINDO ALTO)

AND HOW DO THEY LAUGH IN PORTUGAL?

In Portugal, "kkkk" is barely used: in chat the most common options are "ahahah", "hahaha" or "lol", and "rsrs" is very Brazilian. So if you see a row of k's in a message, chances are there's someone from Brazil on the other end.

Spoken expressions like "morrer de rir" or "chorar de rir" are understood in Portugal and in the other Portuguese-speaking countries, but slang like "rachar o bico" sounds much more Brazilian.

PHRASES TO MAKE YOU LAUGH

These phrases to make you laugh in Portuguese are the kind that go around on social media and WhatsApp groups in Brazil: short and based on everyday situations. If you like this kind of humor, in funny Portuguese phrases I share inside jokes that only people who live in Brazil really get. How many will you understand on the first try?

• Tudo que vai, volta. Menos as canetas que eu emprestei na sala de aula…
• Quem curte balada é adolescente, adulto gosta é de dormir com os boletos pagos.
• Os trabalhos em grupo me ajudaram a entender por que o Batman trabalha sozinho.

8 Brazilian comedy movies that will have you dying of laughter.