#12 - Why Is It "jajaja" and NOT "hahaha" in Spanish? 🤣

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😆 Have you ever seen someone type “jajaja” and thought… wait, what?

In this episode, you’ll learn why Spanish speakers write “jajaja” (not “hahaha”), and what “jijiji” and “jojojo” mean too.

It’s all about how we laugh en español and how to do it right!

📚 Study along with the shownotes on Latin ELE's blog 👇
https://latinele.com/laughter-in-spanish/

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
In a recent episode of Bill Bird's podcast, he said
this about the way Spanish speakers write the sound of laughter.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
You know, like you ever see like when Latino people
laugh at the video, they write j a j a
j j What the fuck is jug jaja?

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Now it's ha jose old freckles. You're right, that's a
common confusion by English speakers. And more on that on
this episode of Speaking Spanish four Beginners. Gitalo Marco, you're
Latino Spanish teacher from Latin Eli. In this episode, we'll

(00:41):
explore how to write the son of laughter en espanel
will look at three specific ways all you send day
instead of eight, and we'll see what each of these
forms represents. This is perfect for chatting with your amigos
and having fun in your text messages. Spell in the
way we laugh correctly in Espaniel. Are you ready for this?

(01:11):
An English on social media or in text messages, when
someone laughs they write ha ha ha with h and
a ah ha. But in Spanish social media or text messages,
you'll see your amigos writing it with day. And in
case you don't know, it's called jutah in Spanish spelled

(01:36):
day ota hotah, So day is hotah, and that name
already gives you a clue as to why we write
laughter with a day. Did you notice the way I
pronounced the letter in Spanish? I said hotah with the
sound ha houta, not jota. That's why in Spanish we

(02:02):
write the son of laughter with d hutah because it's
pronounced ha and not da. So if you're also wondering
about this.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
You know, like you ever see like when Latino people
laugh at the video, they write j j A.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
J j, it's because we pronounce the combination da a
as ha, never as da. You see easy pc And
why is it not with age or as we say
in Spanish at t. The reason is very simple. The

(02:41):
agent Spanish is mostly silent. That means if you wrote
the son of laughter with at t, it would be
a ah and not ha ha ha. That's the same
reason why Spanish speakers say hotel and not hotel like
in English hotel not hotel. Or does we say i'll

(03:05):
call and not alcohol We say i'll call, then i'll call,
not alcohol, because we don't pronounce the age. So there
you have it. The next time you write the son
of laughter in Spanish is with day and not eight. Okay,

(03:26):
let's look at different variations of how to write the
son of Laughter in Spanish. But first let's take a
short break and I'll be right back. Struggling to form
your first sentences in Spanish, Scared to even try speaking
espanel because you don't trust your language skills, then join

(03:48):
my Spanish Beginner Intensive program starting this fall the first
week of September eight weeks to form a solid foundation
in espanel and have your first versas. Honest, not sure
if this program is for you, take my free only
in quiz and find out for yourself. For more information,

(04:09):
visit www dot Latin l dot com slash Spanish Intensive
Program check the link in the episode description. And now
back to the show. Let's look at the combination hotah
e day i. Sometimes you'll see he he he. This

(04:30):
one is used when somebody makes a prank or wants
to convey a noddy tone. He he he spelled hotai
hotai hotai, So when somebody writes he he he, they
are up to something, it represents a mischievous laugh he
he he. And finally, ho ho ho spell hotel hotel hotel.

(04:58):
This is the one associated with some tak lost in Spanish.
I see it often to represent the Christmas spirit, as
saying Ho Ho ho Avidad, or when somebody gives a
present and wants to convey the idea that it was
actually Santa the rite ho ho ho. So there you

(05:18):
have it. Have fun with your amigos. You're seeing ha
ha he he hei or ho ho ho with hotah,
and not at an espanel and that mess, amigos. That's
all for today. Glassiers Potescucha speaking Spanish four beginners. If

(05:43):
you enjoy this podcast, please give it a five star
review and recommend it to a friend, or send it
to Bill bored All Freckles, Elviejo Beakers, And if you
find a similar segment in a podcast where they make
a comment about Espanel, send it over to me. I'll
make it into a learning opportunity, just as I did

(06:05):
with ha ha. Be in touch with me by becoming
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Elsie and Episodio Tatao