Character Study: Cry

So far my (very amateur and sparse) study of Mandarin has focused on functional words and phrases, just the simple pronunciations for me to navigate taxis, markets, and instructions for our ayi (literally “auntie”, the woman who helps me with cooking and cleaning).  I’ve been intrigued by the written characters, but have found them to be less pictographic than I originally imagined, and thus have a hard time learning any.

Well, I recently found a character that conveys its meaning perfectly.  I present you with the Chinese character for “to cry” (in Mandarin, pronounced kū).  It might be my new favorite!

simple font

calligraphy version