How to say “cry” in Chinese
cry
“Cry” in Chinese is 哭, kū: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
哭 is read kū. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On top, two 口 “mouths”; below, 犬 “dog”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “哭”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 哭. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 孩子一会儿哭，一会儿笑。háiziyíhuìrkū,yíhuìrxiàoThe child cries one moment and laughs the next.
- 她哭得很伤心tākūdehěnshāngxīnShe's crying her heart out.
- 大家都笑了，她却哭了。dàjiādōuxiàole,tāquèkūleEveryone laughed, but she cried.
- 我哭也不是，笑也不是。wǒkūyěbúshì,xiàoyěbúshìI don't know whether to laugh or cry.
- 别哭了，擦擦眼泪吧。biékūle,cācayǎnlèibaDon't cry, wipe your tears.
- 婴儿一哭，妈妈就醒了。yīng’éryìkū,māmajiùxǐngleThe moment the baby cries, Mom wakes up.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Joy and sadness”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “cry” in Chinese?
“Cry” in Chinese is 哭, pinyin kū.
What does 哭 mean?
哭 (kū) means “cry”.
How do you write 哭?
哭 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 哭?
哭 is read kū. Tones: kū — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“cry” in the lesson “Joy and sadness”
This word is from the topic “People and personality” of HSK 3. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free