泣 meaning and stroke order
To cry, to sob, to weep
How to write 泣, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 4
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- 8
Meaning of 泣
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to sob
How 泣 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 立 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 泣
泣 (qì) is water 氵 next to 立 (lì, to stand). Picture someone standing still with tears quietly running down their face.
泣 is a formal, written word for quiet crying or sobbing. In everyday speech people say 哭 (kū), but 泣 appears in compounds like 哭泣 (kūqì) and 抽泣 (chōuqì). Example: 她在房间里低声哭泣。(Tā zài fángjiān lǐ dīshēng kūqì.) She was weeping softly in her room.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 泣 as lì because of its phonetic part 立. The correct reading is qì, with a fourth tone. Also, do not use 泣 alone in casual speech. Say 哭 (kū) instead.
Common words with 泣
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
泣 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 泣
How many strokes are in 泣?
泣 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 泣 mean?
泣 (qì) means to cry, to sob, to weep. A common word with it is 哭泣 (kūqì), meaning "to weep".
How do you pronounce 泣?
泣 is pronounced qì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 泣?
The radical of 泣 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 泣 under this radical.
Is 泣 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 泣 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 哭 and 泣?
哭 (kū) is the common spoken word for crying and can include loud crying. 泣 (qì) suggests quieter weeping with tears and sounds literary. It is mostly used inside fixed words and idioms.
What does 可歌可泣 mean and when is it used?
可歌可泣 (kěgē-kěqì) literally means something worth singing about and worth crying over. It praises heroic or deeply moving stories, such as 可歌可泣的事迹 (kěgē-kěqì de shìjì), moving heroic deeds.