鸣 meaning and stroke order
A bird call or animal cry; to make a sound
How to write 鸣, 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
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Meaning of 鸣
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to cry (of birds, animals and insects)
- to make a sound
- to voice (one's gratitude, grievance etc)
How 鸣 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. The sound 口 a bird 鸟 makes.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 鸣
鸣 puts a mouth 口 next to a bird 鸟. A bird opening its mouth makes a call, so 鸣 (míng) means to cry or sing like a bird.
鸣 is mostly used in written or set expressions, not casual speech, where people say 叫 (jiào) instead. It appears in words like 鸣叫 (míngjiào, to chirp or call) and 共鸣 (gòngmíng, resonance), and in sounds made by things, like 鸣笛 (míngdí, to sound a horn). Example: 树上的鸟在鸣叫。(Shù shang de niǎo zài míngjiào.) The birds in the tree are singing.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 鸟 with only three dots at the bottom or confuse it with 乌 (wū, crow), which lacks the dot inside. Also, 鸣 is second tone míng, so do not mix it up with 名 (míng, name) or 明 (míng, bright), which sound the same but mean different things.
Common words with 鸣
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 共鸣 | gòngmíng | (physics) to resonate; resonance; sympathetic response | HSK 7-9 |
| 鸣叫 | míngjiào | to emit a sound; (of birds, insects etc) to chirp, hoot etc |
鸣 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 鸣
How many strokes are in 鸣?
鸣 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 鸣 mean?
鸣 (míng) means a bird call or animal cry; to make a sound. A common word with it is 共鸣 (gòngmíng), meaning "(physics) to resonate; resonance; sympathetic response".
How do you pronounce 鸣?
鸣 is pronounced míng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 鸣?
The radical of 鸣 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 鸣 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 鸣?
The traditional form of 鸣 is 鳴. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 鸣 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 鸣 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 鸣 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 鸣 be used for things that are not animals?
Yes. It can describe sounds from objects, such as 鸣枪 (míngqiāng, to fire a gun as a signal) or 耳鸣 (ěrmíng, ringing in the ears). It can also mean to voice feelings, as in 鸣不平 (míng bùpíng, to complain about an injustice).
What is the difference between 鸣 and 叫?
Both can mean an animal cry, but 叫 (jiào) is everyday and general, while 鸣 sounds more formal or literary. In conversation you would say 鸟在叫, while 鸣 is more common in writing and fixed words.