reírse a carcajadas
verbCEFR B1
What does “reírse a carcajadas” mean in English?
to laugh out loud, to roar with laughter
to laugh out loud, to roar with laughter (a carcajadas = adverbial of manner; maximum intensity on laughing scale)
Example sentences
El chiste era tan bueno que todos nos reímos a carcajadas durante varios minutos sin poder parar, incluso la persona más seria del grupo.
The joke was so good that we all laughed out loud for several minutes without being able to stop, even the most serious person in the group.
Me pareció que se estaba riendo a carcajadas de mí, no conmigo, y eso me molestó bastante aunque probablemente exageré.
It seemed to me she was laughing loudly at me, not with me, and that bothered me quite a bit, although I probably exaggerated.
La película era una comedia tan absurda que a pesar de que no esperábamos nada de ella, nos hizo reírnos a carcajadas desde el primer minuto.
The film was such an absurd comedy that even though we expected nothing from it, it made us laugh out loud from the first minute.
How to use it
Reírse a carcajadas means 'to laugh out loud', 'to burst out laughing', or 'to roar with laughter'. It is the maximum intensity on the laughing scale. Carcajada means a burst of loud laughter — the noun comes from the verb carcajar. The construction reírse + a carcajadas is idiomatic: a carcajadas acts as an adverbial of manner. Reírse alone means 'to laugh' (neutral); reír a carcajadas is the emphatic, full-body laughing version. Other laughing expressions on the scale: sonreír (smile) < reírse (laugh) < reírse a carcajadas (roar with laughter).
Common mistake
The clitic is required for the reflexive reírse — '*reír a carcajadas' without se is possible but unusual and slightly formal. The key register point: reírse a carcajadas is informal and vivid — not appropriate in formal writing unless describing a scene. Carcajada has no direct English cognate; it is a purely lexical item to memorise.