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HSK 3

哭

to cry; to weep

verbneutral1 episode
哭
kū1st tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
kū
Part of speech
verb
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
10
Register
neutral
In episodes
1

Stroke order for 哭

哭 is written with 10 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 哭 mean?

哭 (kū) is the standard Chinese verb for crying — the physical act of producing tears, whether from sadness, pain, joy, or frustration.

It covers everything from a baby's wail to a quiet adult cry to sobbing at a funeral, where English splits the action into 'cry,' 'weep,' 'sob,' and 'bawl.' Two notes for English speakers: first, 哭 is the act itself, not the emotion behind it, so you often pair it with a reason — 哭着说 (kūzhe shuō, 'say while crying'), 哭出来 (kū chūlái, 'cry it out'), or 想哭 (xiǎng kū, 'feel like crying').

Second, the opposite is 笑 (xiào, to laugh/smile), and the two are often contrasted: 又哭又笑 means 'crying and laughing at the same time.' The character pictures two mouths (口口) over a dog (犬) — a folk image of a howling cry.

Hear 哭 in real episodes

哭 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia. Under the rubble, someone shouted: 'There's a baby down here.'哭 spoken at natural speedeasy
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Example sentences

孩子哭了，妈妈很着急。

Háizi kū le, māma hěn zháojí.

The child started crying, and mom was anxious.

neutral

别哭了，没事的。

Bié kū le, méi shì de.

Don't cry, it's okay.

spoken

他听到这个消息，哭了出来。

Tā tīngdào zhège xiāoxi, kū le chūlái.

When he heard the news, he burst into tears.

neutral

我昨天看那部电影，哭了一个小时。

Wǒ zuótiān kàn nà bù diànyǐng, kū le yí ge xiǎoshí.

I watched that movie yesterday and cried for an hour.

spoken

Common phrases with 哭

大哭dà kūcry loudly; sob
哭出来kū chūláiburst into tears
想哭xiǎng kūfeel like crying
别哭bié kūdon't cry
哭了一晚上kū le yì wǎnshangcried all night

Synonyms

流泪liú lèi

流泪 ('shed tears') is more literary and focuses on the tears themselves — often silent crying. 哭 is the everyday verb for the whole act, including the sound.

哭泣kūqì

哭泣 is the written/formal version of 哭 — common in novels and news, rare in speech. Say 哭 with friends; reserve 哭泣 for writing.

Don't confuse 哭 with

苦kǔ

苦 (kǔ, third tone) means 'bitter' or 'hardship.' 哭 (kū, first tone) is the verb 'to cry.' Same initial, different tones and meanings — and emotionally they often go together, which is a useful memory hook.

叫jiào

叫 means 'to call out / shout' (or 'be called'). 哭 is specifically crying with tears. A scared person might 叫 (scream); a sad person 哭.

FAQ

Related words from the same episodes

安静quiet抱to hold in the arms地震earthquake机器machine救to rescue举to raise楼building其中among them声音sound, voice手机mobile phone所有all自己oneself

Acquire it by listening

Meet 哭 again — in real Chinese, at your level.

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