呼 hū — to call; to cry; to shout; to breath out; to exhale
请深深地吸气，再慢慢呼气。Qǐng shēn shēn de xī qì, zài màn màn hū qì.Please breathe in deeply, then slowly breathe out.
Common words: 呼吸 (hū xī)、招呼 (zhāo hu)、打招呼 (dǎ zhāo hu)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to cry"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to cry", including 呼 (hū), 哭 (kū), 鸣 (míng). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to cry" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 呼 (hū), 哭 (kū), 鸣 (míng) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span hū, kū, míng — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 呼 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 呼 hūto call; to cry; to shout; to breath out; to exhaleUseful words: 呼吸, 招呼
- 哭 kūto cry; to weepUseful words: 哭泣, 哭笑不得
- 鸣 míngto cry (of birds)Useful words: 共鸣, 鸣金
Common words for these 3 "to cry" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 呼 (hū) — so "to cry" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
呼吸hū xīto breathe招呼zhāo huto call out to; to greet; to say hello to; to inform打招呼dǎ zhāo huto greet sb by word or action; to give prior notice哭泣kū qìto weep哭笑不得kū xiào bù délit. not to know whether to laugh or cry (idiom); both funny and extremely embarrassing; between laughter and tears大哭dà kūto cry loudly共鸣gòng míng(physics) to resonate; resonance; sympathetic response鸣金míng jīnto beat a gong; to sound the retreat争鸣zhēng míngto contend
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "to cry".
哭 kū — to cry; to weep
小妹妹摔倒了，哭了起来。Xiǎo mèi mei shuāi dǎo le, kū le qǐ lái.The little sister fell down and started to cry.
Common words: 哭泣 (kū qì)、哭笑不得 (kū xiào bù dé)、大哭 (dà kū)
鸣 míng — to cry (of birds)
清晨，林子里传来阵阵鸟鸣。Qīng chén, lín zi lǐ chuán lái zhèn zhèn niǎo míng.In the early morning, bird calls come from the woods.
Common words: 共鸣 (gòng míng)、鸣金 (míng jīn)、争鸣 (zhēng míng)
All 3 characters
Open 呼、哭、鸣 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.