Definition
Laughing in a half-suppressed, disrespectful, or contemptuous way, often at someone else's expense.
Etymology
From 'snigger,' an alteration of earlier 'snicker.' The word likely has onomatopoetic origins, mimicking the sound of stifled laughter. It's sometimes called 'giggling' in American English.
Kelly Says
This word has an interesting shadow history—it's sometimes confused with a racial slur, and some people avoid it entirely, which shows how pronunciation and spelling can create language anxiety even for innocent words!
Translations
ARالعربية
ضحك خفيفا
dih-k kha-fi-fa
BNবাংলা
চুপে হাসা
chu-pe ha-sa
CSČeština
šeptat
shep-tat
DEDeutsch
kichern
ki-chern
ESEspañol
reír entre dientes
ray-er en-tre dee-en-tes
FAفارسی
خندیدن پنهانی
khand-i-den peh-na-a-ni
FISuomi
nauraa hiljaa
nau-raa hi-laa
FRFrançais
sourire en cachette
soo-ree-er en ka-she-et
HIहिन्दी
चुपके से हँसना
chup-ke se han-sna
HUMagyar
suttogni
su-t-to-gni
IDBahasa Indonesia
tersenyum lirih
ter-senyum lee-rih
ITItaliano
sussurrare
soo-soo-ra-re
JA日本語
こっそり笑う
ko-ssori warau
KO한국어
속으로 웃다
sok-eu-ro ut-da
MSBahasa Melayu
tersenyum kecil
ter-senyum ke-chil
NLNederlands
snikkeren
snik-ke-ren
PLPolski
śmieszać się cicho
sh-mies-zat-se chi-cho
PTPortuguês
reír baixinho
ray-ir bai-shin-ho
RUРусский
хихикать
hi-hi-kat
SVSvenska
skratta
skrat-ta
TAதமிழ்
தொடர்ந்து சிரித்தல்
to-dar-nthu si-ri-ttal
TEతెలుగు
చిన్నగా నవ్వు
chin-na-ga nav-vu
THไทย
หัวเราะเบาๆ
hua-rao-beo-beo
TRTürkçe
fısıldamak
fi-si-l-da-mak
UKУкраїнська
шепотіти
she-po-tee-tee
URاردو
چپک چپک ہنسنا
chap-k chap-k han-sna
VITiếng Việt
cười khẽ
kwee khẽ