Japanese symbol for “wailing”
号泣
ごうきゅう
Romaji: goukyuu
crying loudly; bawling; wailing; lamentation
In Japanese, wailing is 号泣, read ごうきゅう (goukyuu).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n, vi, vs crying loudly; bawling; wailing; lamentation
- n, vi, vs crying one's eyes out (without making noise); breaking into a flood of tears; crying buckets; weeping
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “wailing”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 慟哭 | どうこく doukoku | wailing; lamentation |
| 哭声 | コクソン kokuson | The Wailing (2016 South Korean horror film) |
| 哭慟 | こくどう kokudou | wailing; lamentation |
| 号哭 | ごうこく goukoku | wailing; crying loudly |
| オギャー | オギャー ogyaa | whaaa; wah-wah; crying (of a newborn) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 番号 | ばんごう bangou | number; series of digits |
| 信号 | しんごう shingou | signal; signalling; signaling |
| 記号 | きごう kigou | sign; symbol; mark |
| 暗号 | あんごう angou | code; password; cipher |
| 元号 | げんごう gengou | name of an imperial era (e.g. Heisei, Shōwa); Japanese era name |
| 泣き | なき naki | weeping; lamenting |
| 泣き声 | なきごえ nakigoe | cry (e.g. of a baby); sob; whine |
| 泣く | なく naku | to cry; to shed tears; to weep |
See also: Chinese symbol for “wailing”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.