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呜咽 (wū yè) — to sob; to whimper

Definition

呜咽 (wū yè) means to sob or whimper quietly, often with a choked, muffled sound. It is gentler than 哭泣 ('to weep') and less uncontrollable than 哽咽.

verb
to sobto whimper

Examples

  • 呜咽。
    Tā zuò zài chuáng biān dī shēng wū yè.
    She sat by the bed and sobbed quietly.
  • ，呜咽。
    Tīng dào è hào, tā rěn bú zhù wū yè qǐ lái.
    Hearing the bad news, he couldn't help but start sobbing.
  • ，呜咽。
    Hái zi shòu le wěi qu, bù tíng dì wū yè.
    The child was wronged and kept whimpering.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

呜wū
咽yàn

The two syllables together spell a sobbing sound; neither 呜 nor 咽 carries its own meaning in this word.

Sound-only characters

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 嗚; 呜 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
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.

Open 呜 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
因
因yīn咽yàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 咽, 口 is mouth, showing it is connected to the mouth or throat; 因 gives the sound.

Open 咽 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Emotions & Feelings

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