哄堂大笑
hōng táng dà xiào · HSK 7
the whole room roaring with laughter (idiom)
🏛️😂 哄堂 = uproar + hall, 大笑 = big laugh: the whole hall bursts into uproarious laughter
哄 means a roar or uproar of voices, 堂 is a hall or main room, and 大笑 is a big laugh. Stacked together they name the moment a packed hall erupts all at once into roaring laughter.
哄 — mouth radical 口 + 共 (gòng, phonetic)
哄 is a phono-semantic compound. The 口 radical signals it relates to the mouth or sounds, while 共 supplies the pronunciation. It originally depicted a clamor of voices and later extended to meanings like coaxing, deceiving, or a rowdy uproar, reflected in its three tones.
堂 — earth 土 + phonetic 尚
A semantic-phonetic compound: 土 ('earth/ground') gives the meaning, while 尚 supplies the sound. It originally referred to a raised earthen platform or the main hall of a building built on such a foundation. From there it broadened to mean 'hall', 'main room', and by extension formal gatherings or halls of learning.
大 — pictograph of a person with arms outstretched
大 is a pictograph showing a person standing with arms and legs spread wide. The outstretched arms suggest 'big' or 'great', extending from the literal image of a large stance to abstract meanings like important or grand. It is one of the oldest characters, found on oracle bones.
笑 — bamboo radical 竹 (⺮) + 夭 (yāo, bending)
Originally written with the bamboo radical over 夭, depicting a person bending or swaying. One traditional reading is that bamboo bends in the wind like a person doubling over with laughter. The character has meant 'laugh, smile' since early times, with no major shift in meaning.