The Truth About Hahaha and Hehehe

Last July 19, 2010, I sent a text message to my classmate, thanking  him for accompanying me in the LRT and allowing me to ride on his car after we got off the last station. He replied, “Hahaha, walang anuman”. I was baffled by his response because a “hahaha” for me means a loud laugh and I don’t usually use it that much and if I received that same message, I could just have used a “hehehe”. So, I asked my housemates if there is a difference between the two ways of texting a form of laughter in the mobile phone. I was not convinced with their answers so I texted my friends. Below are their compiled answers. I find some the ideas funny and absurd, but all in all, it’s so Pinoy pop culture. (Note: I did not translate some Bisaya terms because they may no longer sound funny)

HAHAHA- when it is really funny and when you are interested

HEHEHE- when it is not that funny or you are bored with your ka-text or you just got nothing to say at all. Kind of an awkward laugh.

HAHAHA- murag nagpaka-hard to get or nikatawa jud ug duro [meaning: grabe] as in LOL

HEHEHE- nagpacute then murag nag-agree sa gikataw-an, then naulaw

HAHAHA- a louder and longer laugh

HEHEHE- polite or a short laugh

HAHAHA- LOL- Laughing out ‘Loud’

HEHEHE- LOL also- Laughing out ‘Light’

HAHAHA- super friends na mo

HEHEHE- dili kaayo mo close, medyo bago lang mo nagkaila or gapacute lang

HAHAHA- means kataw-anan or kantyaw kaayo

HEHEHE- means you are just smiling

HAHAHA- napapahalakhak mo siya

HEHEHE- napa-smile mo lang siya

HAHAHA- katawa jud

HEHEHE- ngisi lang

HAHAHA- comfortable

HEHEHE- shy ako

HAHAHA- for impersonal and distant relationships

HEHEHE- less formal messages, like with friends and people of my age group

HAHAHA- means you had fun sa text

HEHEHE- respetar lang siya kunohay

HAHAHA- bigger laughs/ joke-joke laugh

HEHEHE- sort of giggle/ cute laugh

Guys should go HAHAHA

Pa-cute ang guy if he uses HEHEHE and is used only by girls

HAHAHA- gigitik ug kahimuot jud

HEHEHE- pa-cute

HAHAHA- extremely happy

HEHEHE- may kasamang mischief

Some said that they do not see any difference between the two. Jun Clarito said that “hahaha”, “hehehe” and “hihihi” have the same meanings. He added, “huwag lang siguro ‘huhuhu’ kasi iyak na yun at ‘hohoho’ kasi kay Santa Clause naman yun.” Some gave additional comments like Job Yu who said “It doesn’t bother me naman, I don’t know why even the simplest ‘hahaha’ or ‘hehehe’ means something to other people.”

To conclude, based on the replies of the sample respondents, the difference of using “hahaha” and “hehehe” in texting are attributed to various factors, namely, level of relationships, gender, loudness of the laugh, degree of interest, and other non-quantifiable reasons. To summarize, the usage of “hahaha” and “hehehe” varies among texters and may lead to different interpretations.

For further research, is there a difference between double form “hehe” and triple form “hehehe”? (I remembered a friend in college who kept on insisting that there is a significant difference between the two).

My Toy Story 3 Experience

Last June 27, 2010, I watched Toy Story 3 at IMAX with Kuya Jun and the quite rowdy batch of Gudoy, Davey, Miguel and Aaron. Kuya Jun informed me about babysitting these young boys at SM Mall of Asia. They were very excited to watch a movie in IMAX since most of them were first-timers. We arrived there some minutes after 1:00 PM and the next schedule was 3:15 PM. So, we decided to stay at the IMAX waiting area for- as Gudoy calculated- two hours. I think it was a good option for us since the boys were constantly running around, except for Gudoy who just sat beside me and thought of a two-hour wait to be endless. Gudoy relentlessly asked me for the time and felt disappointed whenever only three minutes have passed. I told him that time stops if you keep on asking about it but by the look in his face I thought he did not buy the idea. After one hour, the boys started to ask about soda and popcorn prices. While waiting, the boys entertained me with their questions- Ano ba ang ibig sabihin ng combo snack? Gaano ba kalaki ang regular popcorn? Bakit isasauli ang 3D glasses, hindi ba kasama sa binayaran natin ‘yan? Technology ba ang tawag sa 3D glasses?

We finally entered the IMAX theatre and I was as much excited as the boys were. When the signature 3D countdown was displayed on the screen, I can hear the boys shout- “Awesome”, “Cool” and the statement that almost made me laugh was– “I can’t believe I’m here”. I will not talk about the movie here because I really want you to watch it. Kuya Alvan had been telling as to watch it since Friday for the very reason that the movie had good reviews and a very high score of 98% at Rotten Tomatoes. For me, the movie surpassed my expectations- and I had high expectations before I watched it. When the film almost came to an end, there was a beautiful scene between Andy and the toys and it made me teary-eyed. I don’t always feel emotional whenever I watch films and I think the last time that I really cried was in a scene wherein Mufasa fell from a cliff and died in The Lion King. I finally realized that what was really touching about the episode was that I saw myself in Andy and how he has grown through the years. The first time I watched Toy Story was in 1995 and I was 11 years old then. As we walked towards the exit of the theatre, I told the boys that the first time I watched Toy Story was when I was in Grade 5 (which is Davey and Aaron’s grade level this school year), and Miguel replied, “wow, ang tagal na pala ‘nun”… And yes, if I were in his shoes I would have said the same thing.

Outside, we waited for Miguel’s mom. When Ate Mabel arrived, she asked us if the boys enjoyed the movie and I replied, “nag-enjoy nga din kami [ni Kuya Jun]”. Then, I said goodbye to them and headed to a bookstore to buy a book that was on my required reading list. Scenes from the film just lingered on my mind and I remembered that Kuya Alvan said to us that the theme of Toy Story 3 is “moving on with our life”. And just as I passed by the activity center of SM, I saw a live performance of my favorite Filipino singer/composer- Noel Cabangon. While he was singing, “Tuloy pa rin ang awit ng buhay ko…” I realized that God is really a God of perfect timing. Although I knew that the song was in the context of love loss and heartbreak, I toyed with the thought of a line from the chorus- “Handa na ‘kong hamunin ang aking mundo, ‘pagkat tuloy pa rin”. I knew that God met me at that moment and the message that He wanted me to realize was how much He has been faithful to me throughout the years. I believe that we can brave the toughest situation in life because God truly cares for us and that He gets the glory from our darkest hours. Through every storm and every sunshine, God always reminded me that it’s not about me, it has always been about Him. As a response, it is but fitting for me to continuously strive to be a dispenser of His grace.