嚎啕 (háo táo) — to cry loudly, to wail

Definition

嚎啕 (háotáo) means to wail or cry loudly and uncontrollably — usually grief or distress. It is more intense and dramatic than the everyday 哭, often paired with 大哭.

adverb
to cry loudlyto wail

Examples

  • ，嚎啕。
    Tā tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi hòu, rěn bú zhù háo táo qǐ lái.
    After hearing this news, she couldn't help but wail.
  • 嚎啕，。
    Yīng ér zài yè lǐ dà shēng háo táo, chǎo xǐng le lín jū.
    The baby wailed loudly at night, waking up the neighbors.
  • 嚎啕，。
    Tā guì zài fén qián háo táo dà kū, lìng rén xīn suān.
    He knelt before the grave and wailed loudly, which was heartbreaking.

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.

嚎háo
啕táo

The characters 嚎 and 啕 work together as one unit for loud crying; they do not contribute separate meanings here.

Sound-only characters

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kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
豪
豪háo嚎háo
Same sound today

嚎 combines 口 (mouth) with 豪, which gives it its sound.

Open 嚎 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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