смяяцца з + Genitive
Laughing at with З
смяяцца з + genitive = laugh at: Не смейся з мяне! Compare з сябрам (with a friend, instrumental).
How It Works
Laughing at someone. Use смяяцца з with the genitive for the person or thing people laugh at:
- Не смейся з мяне! (Don't laugh at me!)
- Дзеці смяяліся з клоўна. (The children were laughing at the clown.)
- Усе смяяліся з яго жарту. (Everyone laughed at his joke.)
The imperative is смейся and смейцеся: Не смейцеся з яго.
Other verbs with the same pattern. Several verbs of mocking take з and the genitive:
- жартаваць з каго: to make fun of, to tease
- кпіць з каго: to mock
- здзекавацца з каго: to bully, to torment
The case decides the meaning. The preposition з has two jobs (see з and са). With the genitive, it points at the target. With the instrumental, it means together with (з meaning with):
- Мы жартавалі з сябрамі. We joked with our friends.
- Мы жартавалі з сяброў. We made fun of our friends.
About над. You may hear смяяцца над кім, as in Russian. Belarusian dictionaries give only з каго-чаго for this meaning, so use з.
The pronoun forms after з are the genitive ones: з мяне, з цябе, з яго, з яе, з нас, з вас, з іх. See personal pronoun case forms.
Examples (6)
- Не смейся з мяне!
Don't laugh at me!
Word by Word: Not laugh from me!
- Дзеці смяяліся з клоўна.
The children were laughing at the clown.
Word by Word: Children laughed from clown.
- Усе смяяліся з яго жарту.
Everyone laughed at his joke.
Word by Word: All laughed from his joke.
- Ён часта жартуе з малодшай сястры.
He often teases his younger sister.
Word by Word: He often jokes from younger sister.
- Мы жартавалі з сябрамі да ночы.
We joked with our friends until night.
Word by Word: We joked with friends until night.
Here з takes the instrumental, so it means together with.
- Не трэба смяяцца з чужой бяды.
You should not laugh at other people's troubles.
Word by Word: Not needed to-laugh from someone-else's trouble.
Common Mistakes
Using the instrumental pronoun after з.
Не смейся з мною!Не смейся з мяне!Смяяцца з takes the genitive, so the pronoun is мяне. The instrumental would mean with me, and then the preposition becomes са: са мною.
Using the instrumental when you mean laugh at.
Мы смяяліся з сябрам. (meant: We laughed at our friend.)Мы смяяліся з сябра.З сябрам (instrumental) means together with the friend. To laugh at him, use the genitive: з сябра.
Building the imperative as смяйся.
Не смяйся з мяне!Не смейся з мяне!Dictionaries give the imperative of смяяцца as смейся and смейцеся.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Laughing at needs -ся verbs and the genitive.
Related Patterns
- Meanings of -ся
Смяяцца is a -ся verb whose object comes with a fixed preposition.
Level 3 - Verbs with Fixed Prepositions
Other verbs that need a particular preposition.
Level 4 - з + InstrumentalWith: З and the Instrumental
З with the instrumental means together with, not at.
Level 2 - з / саThe Preposition Variants З and Са
The two jobs of з, and when it becomes са.
Level 2 - Personal Pronoun Case Forms
The genitive pronoun forms used after з: мяне, цябе, яго.
Level 2 - хварэць на + AccusativeBeing Ill with Хварэць На
Another verb whose preposition differs from English.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice смяяцца з + Genitive in Bubblegum
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