---
title: "Kaiwanxiao Meaning: 开玩笑 (kāiwánxiào) Means “to joke”"
description: "开玩笑 (traditional 開玩笑, kāiwánxiào) means “to joke; to kid”. Hear its tones and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kaiwanxiao"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 开玩笑 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

开玩笑 kāiwánxiào

## to joke; to kid

## Its characters

1. 开 kāi to open

## In a sentence

别生气，我是开玩笑的。 Don't be mad, I was just joking.

有人**开玩笑**说，它根本不应该算月饼。

From [中秋夜班 · A Mid-Autumn night at the office: mooncakes for the security guard](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/mid-autumn-festival-story-in-chinese#library-word-131-134)

[More about 开玩笑](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%BC%80%E7%8E%A9%E7%AC%91)

## More words with 开 or 玩 or 笑

- [嘲笑 cháoxiào](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/chaoxiao)
- [打开 dǎkāi](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/dakai)
- [分开 fēnkāi](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/fenkai)
- [公开 gōngkāi](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/gongkai)
- [好玩 hǎowán](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/haowan)
- [好笑 hǎoxiào](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/haoxiao)
- [开场 kāichǎng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kaichang)
- [开车 kāichē](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kaiche)
- [开除 kāichú](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kaichu)
- [开创 kāichuàng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kaichuang)

## Keep 开玩笑 for Review

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[How it compares with Zhongwen](https://mandarinthewild.com/compare/zhongwen)