📖 Meaning
To break into laughter from tears, describing the transition from sorrow to joy. It is a variant of the more common idiom 破涕为笑 (pò tì wéi xiào) with identical meaning.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom is a variant of the well-established 破涕为笑, which has appeared in Chinese literature for centuries. No single definitive source text is attributed to this exact form. It follows the same semantic pattern of tears ceasing and laughter replacing them, commonly used to describe someone comforted out of grief.
💡 Example Usage
听到女儿已经安全到家，母亲破涕成笑，赶紧去厨房准备饭菜。
Hearing that her daughter had safely arrived home, the mother broke into laughter through her tears and hurried to the kitchen to prepare a meal.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 破涕成笑
- Pinyin: pò tì chéng xiào
- Literal Translation: break, tears, into, laugh
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4