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笑顔Egao: what it means in anime
えがお · egao
smiling face; smile
Egao means "a smile" or "a smiling face". 笑顔で is "with a smile", and 笑顔が素敵 is "you have a lovely smile".
Updated November 2, 2026
Where you hear it
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これって 笑顔とか幸せがテーマでSo the theme here is smiling and happiness?
Mob Psycho 100Episode 3 · 11 lines in episodes 1–3 -
はぁ… 恐れ知らずの笑顔ね
My Hero AcademiaEpisode 2 · 8 lines in episodes 1–3
From the Japanese subtitles · how we count
Usage and nuance
The word is built from 笑 (laugh) and 顔 (face). It is a noun, so you "show" or "make" one: 笑顔を見せる. The verb "to smile" is 笑う or 微笑む.
Anime uses it for warmth and for menace. In Mob Psycho 100 a group's theme is 笑顔とか幸せ, "smiles and happiness", and My Hero Academia describes a fearless grin as 恐れ知らずの笑顔.
作り笑顔 is a forced smile, the kind a character wears while hiding pain, and a classic way anime signals that someone is not okay.
Hear 笑顔 in Mob Psycho 10011 lines in episodes 1–3 · tappable subtitles · free, no account