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Q: Why do Chinese girls cover their mouths when they laugh or smile?
to cover up those nasty looking teeth that some of them have.
It is out of politeness. Ladies do not "guffaw" out loud like men do. They are supposed to be delicate and demure.
In fact, in the West it used to be the same. Ladies would smile behind their fans.
GuilinRaf:
Well, um. lets see....Ah yes! It just means that you are secure in your masculinity and dont need to open your mouth wider than your head in order to have a nice good laugh!
Chinese traditional view thought the girl should be graceful and elegant. so people don't like the young girl mouth open so big like shark show their teeth, the true lady should not grin, they should be smile without show their teeth.(Chinese slang is 笑不露齿 )
It's to make up for the fact that they don't cover their mouth when sneezing.
The universe needs balance.
that's chinese logic for ya. It's graceful and elegant to cover your mouth when laughing. meanwhile they are spitting, sneezing, and coughing all over the place. 
9 out of 10 times it's because your breath stinks....and they don't just cover their mouths they cover their noses too!
It is just considered good manners. They cover their mouths if they pick their teeth also. I think is an attempt to appear modest.
