How to Write 吭 (háng/kēng) — Meaning “to utter a sound; to speak”

Imagine a person with a wide-open mouth (口) shouting loudly, like a kangaroo (亢) making a strong call. The shape of 亢 even looks like a kangaroo standing up, helping you link it to the idea of uttering a sound. This silly image makes it easy to recall that 吭 relates to speaking or singing out.

Write the left radical 口 first in three strokes (a vertical, then top and bottom horizontals). Then write 亢 starting with the top dot, then horizontal stroke, then the curved stroke, and finally the bottom left-falling stroke. A common mistake is making the 口 too small or the right part 亢 too wide—keep them balanced and about the same height.

While 吭 has the mouth radical with 亢 (giving sounds related to speaking or singing), 卟 has the mouth with 卜 (used for popping or bubbling sounds). 古 combines 十 and 口 to mean "ancient" or "old". Visually, 吭 has a tall right component, 卟 has a simple hook-like right part, and 古 has a cross on top of 口.

Today, 吭 appears mostly in set phrases like 不吭声 (bù kēng shēng, "not utter a word") or the idiom 引吭高歌 (yǐn háng gāo gē, "to sing at the top of one's voice"). The idiom is often used to describe singing with great enthusiasm, and it adds a vivid, classical flavor to speech.

Common words containing 吭 include: 吭声 (kēng shēng) — to utter a sound; to speak up; 吭气 (kēng qì) — to utter a sound; to speak; 引吭高歌 (yǐn háng gāo gē) — To sing at the top of one's voice; to sing heartily..