<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.  

---

