哭
weep, moan, wail
Readings
On'yomi
- コク
Kun'yomi
- なげ.く
- な.く
Meaning
哭 centers on vocal expressions of grief or pain: weeping, moaning, and wailing. It captures the act of crying out loud rather than silent tears.
Most common words using 哭
- 慟哭どうこく
wailing; lamentation
- 号哭ごうこく
wailing; crying loudly
- 哀哭あいこく
grief; mourning; lamentation
- 哭くなく
to cry (noisily); to wail; to sob
- 哭声こくせい
wailing voice; (loud) crying voice
- 哭声コクソン
The Wailing (2016 South Korean horror film)
- 哭慟こくどう
wailing; lamentation
- 憂哭うきね
sobbing
- 痛哭つうこく
lamentation
- 鬼哭きこく
wailings of a restless ghost; weeping voice of a departed soul
- 鬼哭啾啾きこくしゅうしゅう
spine-chilling (like the wailing and weeping of a restless ghost); hair-raising
Study
Etymology
哭 combines 吅 (two mouths, suggesting loud noise) with 犬 (dog), likely depicting a dog howling or wailing. The modern form retains this visual idea of vocalized distress.
Meaning mnemonic
Two mouths 吅 above a dog 犬: imagine a dog howling so loudly it sounds like two mouths wailing at once. That noisy grief is weeping and moaning.
Reading mnemonic
For コク, picture a dog wailing because it accidentally ate a cork: cork -> コク, and the dog's loud moaning fits the kanji's meaning.