哄堂大笑

hōngtáng-dàxiào

idiom HSK 7-9 #43,979

Meanings

1 the whole room bursts into laughter
2 uproarious laughter

Characters

uproar; roar (of a crowd)

Literally 'the hall roars with great laughter' — the entire room erupting in laughter at once.

Examples

他讲了一个笑话，引得大家哄堂大笑。

Tā jiǎng le yíge xiàohua, yǐnde dàjiā hōngtángdàxiào.

He told a joke that made the whole room burst into laughter.

老师的一句话让全班哄堂大笑。

Lǎoshī de yíjùhuà ràng quánbān hōngtángdàxiào.

One sentence from the teacher made the whole class burst out laughing.

Tips

mistakes

哄 has three pronunciations: hōng (uproar, as here), hǒng (to coax/soothe, as in 哄孩子), and hòng (to deceive). In this idiom it's always first tone hōng.

Stroke Order

哄 hǒng

堂 táng

大 dà

笑 xiào