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鳴く (naku) Japanese meaning: to make a sound (animal) | Kotomora
Common word› JLPT N4 › Freq. Frequency Top 10,000 Conjugation 鳴く · godan verb (-ku)
Form Positive Negative Dictionary 鳴な く 鳴な かない Polite 鳴な きます 鳴な きません Past polite 鳴な きました 鳴な きませんでした Past 鳴な いた 鳴な かなかった Te-form 鳴な いて 鳴な かないで Desire 鳴な きたい 鳴な きたくない Potential 鳴な ける 鳴な けない Passive 鳴な かれる 鳴な かれない Causative 鳴な かせる 鳴な かせない Causative passive 鳴な かせられる also 鳴な かされる 鳴な かせられない also 鳴な かされない Volitional 鳴な こう Polite volitional 鳴な きましょう Imperative 鳴な け 鳴な くな Conditional 鳴な けば 鳴な かなければ Tara conditional 鳴な いたら 鳴な かなかったら
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In the morning, small birds are chirping.
Usage patterns 〈 動どう 物ぶつ 〉 が 鳴な く an animal makes its characteristic sound (barks, chirps, meows, etc.)
A dog is barking in the yard.
ポンして 鳴な く to call pon (declare a meld) in mahjong
He called pon to declare a meld.
〈 虫むし 〉 が 鳴な く insects chirp or buzz (typically at night, in autumn, etc.)
When night falls, the insects start chirping.
Expressions· 8 Show 3 more 鳴な く 猫ねこ は 鼠ねずみ を 捕と らぬ empty vessels make the most sound; the meowing cat does not catch the mouse 鳴な く 蝉せみ よりも 鳴な かぬ 蛍ほたる が 身み を 焦こ がす empty vessels make the most noise; the silent firefly burns with more passion than the crying cicada Related words 吠える is used specifically for the barking, howling, or roaring of animals like dogs and wolves, while 鳴く covers the general range of animal vocalizations (birds, insects, cats, etc.).
さえずる is limited to the twittering or chirping of small songbirds, whereas 鳴く is the broad verb for any animal's cry or call.
Word family· 18 animal vocalization; cry; call; song
calling at night; nocturnal song
first song/chirp of the year (bird/insect)
twittering of a bush warbler (esp. in winter); tiny twittering
Written forms 鳴な く Usage 91%
Standard kanji for animal sounds and mahjong calls.
啼な く Usage 9%
Rare variant for bird calls; 鳴く is preferred in modern writing.
Etymology Native Japanese verb. The kanji 鳴 combines 'mouth' (口) and 'bird' (鳥), suggesting a bird's call, but the word itself predates the kanji and is not derived from it.
cry of the crow; cawing of a crow
Show 7 more long crowing; warbling
singing sand; whistling sand; squeaking sand
songbird; bird with a beautiful song
whistling of a prostitute to attract customers
mating call
cry of earthworms
mimicking an animal call; imitating a sound
