呜

嗚

wū

乌 + 口

Definitions

wū (particle) (onom.) humming; whimpering sound

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 乌 represents the sound. Simplified form of 嗚.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 乌

About

呜, simplified form of 嗚, is a phono-semantic compound: the mouth radical 口 on the left indicates a sound, while the right-side component 乌 (烏 in traditional) means 'crow' or 'black' but functions solely as the phonetic. The character is an onomatopoeia for low, drawn-out, resonant sounds, howling wind, blaring sirens or train whistles, or mournful sobbing and whimpering, directly mimicking acoustic phenomena and conveying auditory expressions of distress or mechanical noise.

Etymology Hide

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

火车呜呜地响。

Huǒchē wūwū de xiǎng.

The train whistles loudly.

小狗呜呜地叫。

Xiǎo gǒu wūwū de jiào.

The puppy is whining.

风在窗外呜呜地吹。

Fēng zài chuāng wài wūwū de chuī.

The wind is blowing mournfully outside the window.

他听到呜呜的警报声。

Tā tīng dào wūwū de jǐngbào shēng.

He heard the wailing sound of the alarm.

轮船的汽笛发出呜呜的长鸣。

Lúnchuán de qìdí fāchū wūwū de cháng míng.

The ship's whistle let out a long, mournful sound.

远处的警车呜呜作响，越来越近。

Yuǎn chù de jǐngchē wūwū zuò xiǎng, yuè lái yuè jìn.

The distant police car siren wailed, getting closer and closer.

每当夜深人静时，她总会想起那呜呜的哭声。

Měi dāng yè shēn rén jìng shí, tā zǒng huì xiǎng qǐ nà wūwū de kū shēng.

Whenever the night is deep and quiet, she always remembers that sobbing sound.

工厂的机器整天呜呜地运转，让人心烦意乱。

Gōngchǎng de jīqì zhěng tiān wūwū de yùnzhuǎn, ràng rén xīnfán yìluàn.

The factory machines whir all day long, making people upset and distracted.

Related Characters

Component: 乌

Component: 口

呜