<p>他 <strong>在笑</strong>: He <strong>is laughing</strong>.<br/>他 <strong>在笑</strong> <strong><em>你</em></strong>: He <strong>is laughing</strong> at <strong><em>you</em></strong>.<br/>你 <strong>在笑</strong> <strong><em>谁</em></strong>: You <strong>are laughing</strong> at <strong><em>who</em></strong>? (Who are you laughing at?)<br/>你 <strong>在笑</strong> <strong><em>什么</em></strong>: You <strong>are laughing</strong> at <strong><em>what</em></strong>? (What are you laughing at?)<br/>The word <strong>at</strong> is needed in English but not in Chinese.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-23T08:12:21.223Z
Intuitive explanation _by example_. Focuses on __patterns__ rather than on language theory.
hc_dev
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-06T10:40:01.017Z
2018-12-06T10:40:01.017Z
xenophōn
<p>「在」in「你在笑什麽」is not equivalent to English <em>at</em> in <em>what are you laughing at?</em>. To demonstrate by analogy:</p>

<ul>
<li>你在吃什麽 - <em>what are you eating?</em></li>
<li>你在做什麽 - <em>what are you doing?</em></li>
</ul>

<p>「在」is actually equivalent to the suffix <em>-ing</em> in <em>laughing</em>, <em>eating</em>, <em>doing</em>. It is English which grammatically requires something as a target for the verb <em>laughing</em>; this requirement is redundant in Chinese.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>你在笑什麽</p>
  
  <p>Literally: You (你) [action in progress / -ing] (在) laugh (笑) what (什麽)?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Perhaps it is easier to see what's being <strong>omitted</strong> in English.</p>

<ul>
<li>你在笑什麽 - <em>about/at what are you laughing?</em></li>
<li>你在吃什麽 - <em>what [food] are you eating?</em></li>
<li>你在做什麽 - <em>what [action] are you doing?</em></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-04T12:00:19.630Z
2018-12-04T12:00:19.630Z
dROOOze
<p>In English, you say</p>

<pre><code>What are you laughing at?
I'm laughing at this situation.
</code></pre>

<p>Here, the preposition "at" refers to "this situation" and "what", respectively. In German it's more clear, since the preposition "über" is always before its target:</p>

<pre><code>Über was lachst du?
Ich lache über die Situation.
</code></pre>

<p>Same in French:</p>

<pre><code>De quoi ris-tu?
Je ris de la situation.
</code></pre>

<p>In Chinese, the same question would be (according to Duolingo and Google Translate):</p>

<pre><code>你在笑什么？
</code></pre>

<p>To me, this sounds like</p>

<pre><code>You about laugh what?
Du über lachst was?
Tu de ris quoi?
</code></pre>

<p>instead of</p>

<pre><code>You laugh about what?
Du lachst über was?
Tu ris de quoi?
</code></pre>

<p>Why is the 在 before the 笑, instead of before the 什么? Is that just "because it is", or am I missing an important point here?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-05T00:01:40.893Z
Because Chinese doesn't need European grammar.
炸鱼薯条德里克
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-05T08:42:14.730Z
@神秘德里克 So you're saying that my first suggested answer is correct: "It is so because it is." But as you can see from the accepted answer, it was my misunderstanding of the meaning of 在 that was the problem. Not really a grammar issue.
Jonas Sourlier
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-06T08:30:30.953Z
为什么英语里要说What are you laughing at?而不是What you're laughing at?
Zhang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-06T08:33:20.793Z
"在" is not "at" here. "在" is "ing" here.
Zhang
<translation><grammar><mandarin>
Why 你在笑什么？, why not 你笑在什么？
# Why 你在笑什么？, why not 你笑在什么？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-12-04)

In English, you say

```
What are you laughing at?
I'm laughing at this situation.

```

Here, the preposition "at" refers to "this situation" and "what", respectively. In German it's more clear, since the preposition "über" is always before its target:

```
Über was lachst du?
Ich lache über die Situation.

```

Same in French:

```
De quoi ris-tu?
Je ris de la situation.

```

In Chinese, the same question would be (according to Duolingo and Google Translate):

```
你在笑什么？

```

To me, this sounds like

```
You about laugh what?
Du über lachst was?
Tu de ris quoi?

```

instead of

```
You laugh about what?
Du lachst über was?
Tu ris de quoi?

```

Why is the 在 before the 笑, instead of before the 什么? Is that just "because it is", or am I missing an important point here?

**Tags:** translation, grammar, mandarin

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Because Chinese doesn't need European grammar.  
> **username_0**: @神秘德里克 So you're saying that my first suggested answer is correct: "It is so because it is." But as you can see from the accepted answer, it was my misunderstanding of the meaning of 在 that was the problem. Not really a grammar issue.  
> **username_2**: 为什么英语里要说What are you laughing at?而不是What you're laughing at?  
> **username_2**: "在" is not "at" here. "在" is "ing" here.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2018-12-04. Score: 23 | Accepted answer

「在」in「你在笑什麽」is not equivalent to English *at* in *what are you laughing at?*. To demonstrate by analogy:

* 你在吃什麽 - *what are you eating?*
* 你在做什麽 - *what are you doing?*

「在」is actually equivalent to the suffix *-ing* in *laughing*, *eating*, *doing*. It is English which grammatically requires something as a target for the verb *laughing*; this requirement is redundant in Chinese.

> 你在笑什麽
>
> Literally: You (你) [action in progress / -ing] (在) laugh (笑) what (什麽)?

Perhaps it is easier to see what's being **omitted** in English.

* 你在笑什麽 - *about/at what are you laughing?*
* 你在吃什麽 - *what [food] are you eating?*
* 你在做什麽 - *what [action] are you doing?*


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-12-06. Score: 6

他 **在笑**: He **is laughing**.  
他 **在笑** ***你***: He **is laughing** at ***you***.  
你 **在笑** ***谁***: You **are laughing** at ***who***? (Who are you laughing at?)  
你 **在笑** ***什么***: You **are laughing** at ***what***? (What are you laughing at?)  
The word **at** is needed in English but not in Chinese.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Intuitive explanation _by example_. Focuses on __patterns__ rather than on language theory.  

---

