How to Write 啕 (táo) — Meaning “To wail; to cry loudly”

Imagine someone opening their mouth (口) wide to cry, and the sound comes out like "tao-tao" — think of a baby wailing "táo táo" in distress. The right part 匋 looks like a ceramic pot (陶), and you can picture a crying child throwing a pot on the floor in a tantrum.

Write the left radical 口 (mouth) first with three strokes, then the right part 匋. The right side has 8 strokes: start with the left vertical stroke of 勹, then the inner 缶 (fǒu) component (注意: 缶 has a short horizontal first, then vertical, then the rest). Common mistake is making the mouth too big or uneven — keep it small and proportional to the right.

啕 (táo) specifically means wailing or crying loudly, while 呲 (cī, zī) means to reprimand or show teeth, and 咠 (qì, jí) means to whisper or talk in a low voice. Visually, 啕 has the right component 匋 (pottery), 呲 has 此 (this), and 咠 has 咠 (ear). The meanings and pronunciations are completely different.

啕 appears almost exclusively in the compound 号啕大哭 (háo táo dà kū), meaning to wail loudly, often describing extreme grief in literature or news. It is rarely used alone and is considered a literary or formal term. The character itself is not part of the HSK vocabulary, so learners might only encounter it in classical texts or dramatic descriptions.

Common words containing 啕 include: 号啕大哭 (háo táo dà kū) — to wail, to cry loudly; 啕啕 (táo táo) — Sound of wailing or crying; 啕气 (táo qì) — Naughty; mischievous.