How to say 'Cry' in Japanese | 鳴く

Wondering how to say 'Cry' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for Cry is 'Naku', written as 鳴く in Japanese.'Cry' in hiragana is なく.

word

鳴く

Meaning

Cry

Reading

なく

naku

Kanji

鳴Chirp

Explanation

The Japanese verb '鳴く (なく)' means 'to cry' or 'to make a sound', specifically referring to the sounds made by animals, such as birds chirping or dogs barking. It is not used for human crying, which would be '泣く (なく)' (same pronunciation but different kanji). For example: The bird is chirping「鳥が鳴いている」(とりがないている). The dog barked at night「犬が夜に鳴いた」(いぬがよるにないた). This verb is commonly used to describe animal sounds in nature or in everyday situations.

Part Of Speech

verb

Kanji JLPT

Kanji Grade

Frequency

4480

Composition

kanji-hiragana

Handwriting

This word is a godan verb. To learn how it transforms in different tenses and forms, explore all its conjugations.

Kanji in the Word 鳴く

This word contains 1 kanji character:

kanji

鳴

Meaning

Chirp

Hiragana in the Word 鳴く

This word contains 1 Hiragana character :

hiragana

く

Reading

Words Related to 鳴く Through the Kanji 鳴

These 4 Words contain the Kanji 鳴 as well.

word

鳴る

Meaning

Ring

word

怒鳴る

Meaning

Shout

word

鳴らす

Meaning

Sound, Ring

word

悲鳴

Meaning

Scream

Learn the Word 鳴く

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What does 'Naku' (鳴く) mean?

'Naku' means 'Cry' .

To help you master this word, here's an interactive lesson where you'll practice its readings and meanings.