What's the difference between laugh and laughter?

Question

Everywhere, they can see beautiful flowers and smiling faces, and hear pleasant and_____.(laugh)

What's the difference between laugh and laughter?
I don't know the difference.
Can you tell me? Thanks!

Answer 1

A laugh refers to a single vocalisation that people make when they are amused. It may be a brief laugh or slightly extended. If a person continued to laugh beyond a second or two, you might say that s/he was laughing.

Laughter generally - although not necessarily - refers to vocalised group amusement - when two or more people laugh. We talk about the sound of laughter, referring to the the vocal expression of amusement.

There are several types of laugh, described as chuckles, giggles, guffaws, sniggers (and more). You can look them up.

Synonyms for laughter are mirth and merriment, which are also used mainly to describe amusement among a group of people.

You should note that the difference between laugh and laughter can easily be determined simply by looking for the definitions online. They can be found in numerous online dictionaries. You should make this effort before asking questions.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/laugh
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laugh

Answer 2

You can't hear pleasant and [also hear] something else, because pleasant is an adjective (it must be immediately followed by a noun, not by and).

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You could hear pleasant laughter or maybe hear pleasant laughing (both highlighted elements being "abstract / mass nouns").

OR you could hear a pleasant laugh (a single instance of the act of laughing).

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The relationship between a laugh and laughter / laughing is the same as that between a cry / shout / sneeze and crying / shouting / sneezing (a single act, or something happening repeatedly over time). It just so happens that the "gerund" sense of laughing can also be expressed using the broadly synonymous alternative derived form laughter.