哭丧 (kū sāng) — to wail at a funeral, to lament loudly at a funeral

Definition

哭丧 (kūsāng) is a fixed verb phrase meaning to wail loudly at a funeral. 丧 is here pronounced sāng, not sàng ('to lose'), and the phrase cannot be split or used with an object.

verb
to wail at a funeralto lament loudly at a funeral

Examples

  • 哭丧，。
    Tā zài zàng lǐ shàng kū sāng, shēng yīn hěn dà.
    He wailed at the funeral, his voice very loud.
  • ，哭丧。
    Gǔ dài sāng lǐ shàng, qīn qi men dōu yào kū sāng.
    In ancient funeral rites, relatives all had to wail.
  • 哭丧，。
    Tā kū sāng de shí hou hěn shāng xīn, dà jiā dōu bèi gǎn dòng le.
    When she wailed at the funeral, she was very sad, and everyone was moved.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

哭kūcry/wail
丧sàngfuneral/mourning

哭 is to cry or wail, and 丧 is a funeral, so one wails at a funeral.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
吅吅xuānto speak loudly
Sound part声符shēngfú
獄
獄yù哭kū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Early 哭 showed 吅, loudly, above a long-haired person; that lower part later became dog-like shapes. Later, 哭 was analyzed as 吅 plus 獄 for sound.

Open 哭 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 喪; 丧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
㗊㗊㗊many mouths
Sound part声符shēngfú
桑
桑sāng喪sàng
Same sound today

The traditional form 喪 originally paired 桑 (mulberry tree) with 㗊 (many mouths). The simplified 丧 is the modern form, deriving from a form that used 哭 (cry) and 亡 (die).

Open 丧 →

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