呜 (wū) — (onomatopoeia) sound of a horn, whistle, or siren
Definition
Onomatopoeia for the long, drawn-out sound of a horn, whistle, or siren (e.g. 汽笛呜的一声). Always written as a repeated 呜呜 in running text to stretch the sound.
onomatopoeia
sound of a hornwhistleor siren
Examples
- “”。Jǐng chē fā chū "wū wū" de shēng yīn.The police car made a 'wooo wooo' sound.
- 呜。Yuǎn chù chuán lái huǒ chē wū de yī shēng cháng míng.From afar came the long 'toot' of a train whistle.
- “呜”。Qì chē lǎ ba "wū" dì xiǎng le yí xià.The car horn sounded with a 'toot'.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 嗚; 呜 is its simplified writing.
Sound part声符shēngfú
烏
烏wū嗚wū
Same sound today
The traditional form 嗚 pairs 口 (mouth) with 烏, which gives its sound; the simplified 呜 is a shorthand, and its right side is not a historical sound part.
Appears in
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