笑ってた

was laughing

→ 笑う

笑っ laugh + て Te-form (conjunctive form) + た Past tense

verb · informal, past tense Rare #44,928

was laughing Colloquial contraction of 笑っていた.

JA: 彼はテレビを見ながら笑ってた。

EN: He was laughing while watching TV.

Conjugation of 笑う

Indicative past

Why were you laughing?

So that’s why Yachiyo was always laughing so happily.

— Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (2026)

I wonder why they were laughing?

He laughed and said, “It’s a town full of zombies, right?”

— デッド・ドント・ダイ (2019)