哭声 (kū shēng) — the sound of crying, weeping, sobbing | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

the sound of cryingweepingsobbing

Measure word · 声

Examples

哭声。
Tā tīng dào le yīng ér de kū shēng.
She heard the baby's crying.
哭声。
Cóng gé bì chuán lái yí zhèn bēi shāng de kū shēng.
From next door came a burst of sorrowful crying.
哭声。
Tā de kū shēng ràng rén hěn xīn téng.
His crying made people very sympathetic.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

哭 (crying) and 声 (sound) combine to mean the sound of crying.

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.

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 聲; 声 is its simplified writing.

殸耳聲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

耳耳ěrear

Sound part声符shēngfú

殸

殸qìng聲shēng

Same sound today

The traditional form 聲 pairs 耳 (ear) with 殸 as a sound part; the simplified 声 is a shorthand and does not show those original parts.

Appears in

Emotions & Feelings

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