Meaning of 哭
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to cry; to weep
How to use 哭
哭 is the everyday verb for crying, and it often appears with 了 or with words that describe how hard someone cries, like 大哭 (dàkū) or 痛哭 (tòngkū). 孩子哭了。 (Háizi kū le.) The child cried.
哭 (kū) has two mouths 口口 on top and 犬 below. Picture two wide-open mouths wailing loudly, with the dot on 犬 like a single tear falling down.
Common mistake: Learners often write the bottom as 大 and forget the dot, but the bottom part is 犬, which has a dot on the upper right. Also keep the first tone kū, not kǔ, which is 苦 (bitter).
哭 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
哭 kū · to cry · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 哭.
| 哭泣 | kūqì | to weep |
| 哭笑不得 | kūxiào-bùdé | lit. not to know whether to laugh or cry (idiom); both funny and extremely embarrassing |
| 哭声 | kūshēng | sound of weeping |
| 大哭 | dàkū | to cry loudly |
| 哭哭啼啼 | kūkutítí | to weep endlessly; interminable wailing |
| 痛哭 | tòngkū | to cry bitterly |
| 哭喊 | kūhǎn | to wail |
| 哭闹 | kūnào | to bawl, disturbing others |
| 哭诉 | kūsù | to lament; to complain tearfully |
Questions about 哭
What does 哭 mean?
哭 (kū) means "to cry; to weep" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 哭?
哭 is made of 1 character: 哭 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 哭 an HSK word?
Yes. 哭 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 哭 and 哭泣?
哭 is the common spoken word and can mean crying loudly or softly. 哭泣 (kūqì) is more formal or literary and suggests quiet weeping, so it shows up more in writing.
How do you say someone made you cry in Chinese?
Use 把 or a result structure, for example 他把我弄哭了。 (Tā bǎ wǒ nòng kū le.) He made me cry. You can also say 这部电影让我哭了。 (Zhè bù diànyǐng ràng wǒ kū le.) This movie made me cry.