泣く

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 赤ちゃんが大きな声で泣いています。▶ —
   The baby is crying loudly.
2. 感動して涙が出るほど泣いた。▶ —
   I was moved to tears.

Collocations

Mnemonic

Naku splits by kanji: 泣く (cry, humans, with tears) vs 鳴く (cry, animals — bark, chirp, meow). Same pronunciation, different kanji, different axis — a model case of Japanese homophonous-kanji split. Akachan ga naku (baby cries, 泣) vs inu ga naku (the dog barks, 鳴) vs tori ga naku (the bird sings, 鳴). Korean and Chinese have separate roots ("ul-da / jit-da / ji-jeo-gwi-da" — bark, chirp), but Japanese unifies the sound and splits the kanji. Metaphor: nakeru (moving / tear-jerking), naki neiri (cry oneself to sleep = endure injustice). Kanji 鳴 = 口 (mouth) + 鳥 (bird) — pictograph of sound from a bird's mouth.

Quick check

1. Japanese for "the dog barks"?

   • "Inu ga naku" with 鳴 — animal sound
   • "Inu ga naku" with 泣 — incorrect (humans only)
   • "Inu ga hanasu" — to speak
   • "Inu ga sakebu" — to shout