号啕大哭

號啕大哭
háotáodàkū
idiom #44,541

Meanings

  1. 1 to cry loudly; to wail
  2. 2 to weep uncontrollably; to bawl

Examples

Tīng dào māma qùshì de xiāoxi, tā háotáodàkū.
Hearing the news of his mother's death, he broke down sobbing.
Háizi shuāi téng le xīgài, háotáodàkū qǐlai.
The child scraped his knee badly and started bawling.

Tips

history
Echoes 《·同人》: 同人而后 — 'The companion first wails, then laughs.' One of the earliest classical references to loud weeping.
memory
(háotáo) is onomatopoeic — the drawn-out 'haaa-taao' sound of someone wailing. Both characters share the (mouth) radical, reinforcing the meaning. Also written 嚎啕大哭 (variant).

Stroke Order

hào
táo