A Japanese word I learnt recently that made me smile is 微笑む (ほほえむ) [ho.ho.e.mɯ], which means to smile 😃.

The character 微 (kasu / bi) means delicate, minuteness, insignificance, and 笑 (wara / e / jō) means laugh, laughter, smile or sneer. So 微笑 could be translated literally as a “delicate laugh”.

Some related words include:

• 微笑み (hohoemi), 微笑 (bijō) = smile
• 微笑みかける (hohoemikakeru) = to smile (at someone)
• 微笑み返す (hohoemikaesu) = to smile back (at someone), to answer someone’s smile
• 微笑を浮かべて (bijō o ukabete) = with a smile
• 微笑ましい (hohoemashī) = pleasant, charming

The existence of 微笑み返す suggests to me that answering smiles with smiles is a common thing in Japan. That makes me smile. Are there words in other languages that mean something similar?

笑 (wara) [ɰaɺa] on it’s own is apparently used as internet slang to mean LOL (laugh out loud) or haha.

Some related words include:

• 笑う (warau) = to laugh, smile, sneer, ridicule, be flabbergasted
• 笑顔 (ekao) = smiling face, smile
• 笑み (emi) = smile
• 笑い声 (waraigoe) = (sound of) laughter, laughing voice
• 笑いもの, 笑い物 (waraimono) = laughingstock, butt of ridicule
• 笑い話 (waraibanashi) = funny story, funny anecdote
• 笑い出す (waraidasu) = to burst into laughter
• 笑い事 (waraigoto) = laughter matter

Source: jisho.org