开玩笑 kāi wán xiào
“to play a joke; to make fun of; to joke”
verbHSK 4 · 2021 list level 1Traditional 開玩笑
新HSK等级2025 HSK 3.0 syllabus level
开玩笑 appears in the November 2025 exam syllabus in the following numbered entry. Levels refer to the listed reading and use, not every meaning.
- Entry 1419: 开玩笑 kāiwánxiào — Level 4; official annotation 4. PDF page 115
Separate from the HSK 2.0 and 2021 list labels above. Compare the three lists.
用法How to use 开玩笑
开玩笑 means to joke or say something in fun, not seriously. It is a fixed verb-object phrase, often used with 跟/和 + person to mean “tease someone,” or in phrases like 别开玩笑 and 我是开玩笑的.
例句Example sentences
- 别生气，我只是开玩笑。bié shēng qì, wǒ zhǐ shì kāi wán xiào.Don't be angry, I'm just joking.
- 他常常跟同事开玩笑。tā cháng cháng gēn tóng shì kāi wán xiào.He often jokes with his colleagues.
- 现在不是开玩笑的时候。xiàn zài bú shì kāi wán xiào de shí hou.Now is not the time to joke.
常见错误Common mistakes
-
✗他经常开玩笑我。
✓他经常跟我开玩笑。
开玩笑 does not take the person as a direct object; use 跟/和 + person before it.