How do you say "cry" in Japanese?

泣く

naku

Verb Kanji

In Japanese, "cry" is 泣く (naku).

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Pronunciation

Naku is two short syllables, na and ku, said quickly and evenly, almost like the English word 'knock' without the hard k ending.

Writing and usage

泣く is written using kanji. It's a verb, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

赤ちゃんは泣き始めた。

akachan ha naki hajime ta.

The baby began to cry.

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How to remember 泣く

Naku sounds like 'knock, u', though picture instead a soft whimper, na-ku, building into full tears when a baby starts to cry.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 泣く

How do you pronounce 泣く?

Naku is two short syllables, na and ku, said quickly and evenly, almost like the English word 'knock' without the hard k ending.

Is 泣く formal or casual?

泣く is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 泣く written in Japanese?

泣く is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as naku.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Cry" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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