前仰后合

前仰後合
qiányǎng-hòuhé
idiom HSK 7

Meanings

  1. 1 to rock back and forth with laughter
  2. 2 to double over laughing

Characters

Literally 'leaning forward and falling backward' — describes the body rocking uncontrollably from laughing too hard.

Examples

Tā jiǎng de xiàohua ràng dàjiā xiào de qiányǎng-hòuhé.
The joke he told had everyone doubled over laughing.
Guānzhòngmen bèi zhège xiǎopǐn dòu de qiányǎng-hòuhé.
The audience was in stitches from the comedy sketch.

Tips

usage
Almost always used with (xiào de, 'laughed so hard that…'). It's the go-to idiom for describing someone laughing uncontrollably — you'll see it constantly in descriptions of comedy shows and (Spring Festival Gala) sketches.

Stroke Order

qián
yǎng
hòu