The kanji 泣 means "to cry," "to weep," or "to shed tears." It encompasses the act of expressing sadness, pain, or strong emotion through tears. It represents the physical and emotional response of crying.

・On-yomi (音読み): キュウ (kyū) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): なく (naku)

⚫︎ 泣く (naku) Translation: To cry ⚫︎ 涙で泣く (Namida de naku) Translation: To cry with tears ⚫︎ 号泣 (Gōkyū) Translation: Sobbing; weeping bitterly

The kanji 泣 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The left side is a radical (部首, bushu) and represents the radical, meaning "water" or "liquid", which is derived from the Chinese character 氵 (san-zui). The right side is 立 (ryū/tatsu), meaning "to stand" or "to establish", which provides the phonetic component. The combination suggests water (tears) relating to crying or weeping. This character developed over time, and its current form reflects the evolution of Chinese characters.