Japanese

ほくそ

ほくそえむ
Meaning: to chuckle to oneself; to smile with satisfaction; to gloat
Part of Speech: Verb

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Verb inflections

Form Affirmative Negative
Present ほくそ笑む ほくそ笑まない
Polite ほくそ笑みます ほくそ笑みません
Past ほくそ笑んだ ほくそ笑まなかった
Polite + Past ほくそ笑みました ほくそ笑みませんでした
Te-form ほくそ笑んで ほくそ笑まなくて
Potential ほくそ笑める ほくそ笑めない
Passive ほくそ笑まれる ほくそ笑まれない
Causative ほくそ笑ませる ほくそ笑ませない
Causative + Passive ほくそ笑まされる ほくそ笑まされない
Imperative ほくそ笑め ほくそ笑むな

Handwriting

ほ
く
そ
笑
む

Example

He chuckled to himself as the plan went exactly as intended.

Usage Notes

Describes smiling or laughing quietly to oneself when something goes exactly as planned or when one is secretly satisfied with an outcome.

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