嘲笑

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 嘲笑 is read ちょうしょう and means laughing at someone with contempt.
• Basic usage: It describes an opinion being ridiculed or someone enduring others' mockery.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Not simply amusement
  • 笑い broadly means laughter, but 嘲笑 involves looking down on someone. It is not interchangeable with laughter caused simply by amusement.
• Figurative 的
  • 嘲笑の的になる means becoming a target of ridicule. Here 的 is the focus of people's attention or reactions, not a physical target.