痛哭 (tòng kū) — to cry bitterly, to wail

Definition

verb

to cry bitterlyto wail

，痛哭。
Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā rěn bú zhù tòng kū qǐ lái.
Upon hearing this news, she couldn't help but cry bitterly.
痛哭。
Tā zài fù qīn de zàng lǐ shàng tòng kū shī shēng.
He wailed uncontrollably at his father's funeral.
，痛哭。
Hái zi zǒu diū le, mǔ qīn zài jiē shàng tòng kū.
The child got lost, and the mother was crying bitterly on the street.

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.

痛 conveys bitter intensity and 哭 conveys 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.

疒甬痛

Meaning part形符xíngfú

疒疒nèillness

Sound part声符shēngfú

甬

甬yǒng痛tòng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The 疒 part means illness, and 甬 gives the sound; together they form 痛, meaning pain or hurt.

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.

Appears in