呱呱

Chinese

		crying sound of child	crying sound of child
trad. (呱呱)		呱	呱
simp. #(呱呱)		呱	呱

Pronunciation 1

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): gūgū, wāwā

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄨ ㄍㄨ, ㄨㄚ ㄨㄚ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gu¹ gu¹ / waa¹ waa¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, Mainland)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: gūgū
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄨ ㄍㄨ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: gugu
    • Wade–Giles: ku¹-ku¹
    • Yale: gū-gū
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: gugu
    • Palladius: гугу (gugu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ku⁵⁵ ku⁵⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, Taiwan)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: wāwā
    • Zhuyin: ㄨㄚ ㄨㄚ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: wawa
    • Wade–Giles: wa¹-wa¹
    • Yale: wā-wā
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: uaua
    • Palladius: вава (vava)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /wä⁵⁵ wä⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gu¹ gu¹ / waa¹ waa¹
    • Yale: gū gū / wā wā
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gu¹ gu¹ / waa¹ waa¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: gu¹ gu¹ / wa¹ wa¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuː⁵⁵ kuː⁵⁵/, /waː⁵⁵ waː⁵⁵/

Adverb

呱呱

1. (onomatopoeia, literary) for the cry of a baby

   • 嫗又曰：“汝姊在吾懷，呱呱而泣，娘以指扣門扉曰：‘兒寒乎？欲食乎？’吾從板外相爲應答。” [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     妪又曰：“汝姊在吾怀，呱呱而泣，娘以指扣门扉曰：‘儿寒乎？欲食乎？’吾从板外相为应答。” [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: 1524 (this essay was later added some paragraphs but not including the text quoted here), Gui Youguang, 《項脊軒記》 (“Records of the Studio Xiangji”)

     Yù yòu yuē: “Rǔ zǐ zài wú huái, gūgū ér qì, niáng yǐ zhǐ kòu ménfēi yuē: ‘Ér hán hū? Yù shí hū?’ Wú cóng bǎn wài xiāngwèi yìngdá.” [Pinyin]

     “Your elder sister cried hard in my arms,” she continued, “Your mother tapped on the door with her fingers and asked, ‘Is the child cold or hungry?’ I answered her from outside.”

   • 嬰兒墮地，其泣也呱呱；及其老死，家人環繞，其哭也號啕。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     婴儿堕地，其泣也呱呱；及其老死，家人环绕，其哭也号啕。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: 1906, Liu E, Preface to《老殘遊記》, translated by Harold Shadick

     Yīng'ér duò dì, qí qì yě guāguā; jí qí lǎosǐ, jiārén huánrào, qí kū yě hàotáo. [Pinyin]

     When a baby was born, he wept like wa-wa; and when he became old and died, his family formed a circle around him and wail.

Derived terms

• 呱呱墮地 / 呱呱堕地 (gūgūduòdì)
• 呱呱墜地 / 呱呱坠地 (gūgūzhuìdì)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (呱呱):

• → Japanese: 呱呱(ここ) (koko)

Noun

呱呱

1. (literary) infant; baby

Pronunciation 2

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): guāguā

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄨㄚ ㄍㄨㄚ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gwaa¹ gwaa¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: guāguā
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄚ ㄍㄨㄚ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: guagua
    • Wade–Giles: kua¹-kua¹
    • Yale: gwā-gwā
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: guagua
    • Palladius: гуагуа (guagua)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ku̯ä⁵⁵ ku̯ä⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gwaa¹ gwaa¹
    • Yale: gwā gwā
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gwaa¹ gwaa¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: gua¹ gua¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʷaː⁵⁵ kʷaː⁵⁵/

Adverb

呱呱

1. (onomatopoeia) for sound of frogs, ducks, etc.: quack; croak; caw
2. (onomatopoeia, literary) for crying, wailing or shouting
3. (onomatopoeia, literary) for gulping water
4. (onomatopoeia, literary) for talking fluently

Derived terms

• 呱呱叫 (guāguājiào)
• 咭咭呱呱
• 唧唧呱呱
• 頂呱呱 / 顶呱呱 (dǐngguāguā)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
呱	呱
こ Hyōgai	こ Hyōgai
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
呱々

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ko̞ko̞]

Adverb

呱(こ)呱(こ) or 呱呱(こゝ) • (koko) 

1. (onomatopoeia) representation of a baby's cry, especially the cry of a newborn baby

   呱呱(ここ)の声(こえ)をあげる

   koko no koe o ageru

   to give a newborn's cry; to be born

References

• Nihon Kokugo Daijiten (in Japanese), Shōgakukan, 2000-2002