鸣 (míng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

鸣

míng[ming2]Tone 2

to cry, chirp, or make a sound

HSK 7

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鳴

Guru Deep Dive

English · to cry, chirp, or make a sound

Cached lesson

雙生字Twin Character Traps (雙生字)

View in Twin Characters

Often confused with 呜 (wū) — 鸣 contains 鸟 where 呜 contains 乌 — 鸟 has one extra horizontal stroke near the bottom.
鸣 vs 呜 Drill this pair

11. Meaning

to cry or chirp (of birds, insects, or animals)

to make a sound or ringto express or voice feelings, gratitude, or grievances

VerbNeutral#animal communication#sound#emotion expression

Logic Map — how this character is really built

口the Mouthleft
鸟the Feathered Birdright

Sound bursts forth as the Mouth （口） on the left pairs directly with the Feathered Bird （鸟） on the right. This union captures any creature's natural urge to cry, sing, chirp, or sound.

Sample Usage

鸟儿在树上鸣叫。
niǎo ér zài shù shàng míng jiào.
Birds are chirping in the tree.
鸣谢
míng xiè
to express gratitude

22. Sound

/[mɪŋ³⁵]/Tone: 35

鸣

míngming2

´(35)

=míng

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

ming

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "i" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Sounds approximately like:“Ming”Close approximationTone pitch cue:rising, like the end of a question

Key difference: —

Initial Consonant

Type: Bilabial Nasal

Sounds like: m sound as in 'mother'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Nasal resonance through nostrils.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Lips pressed lightly together to form the bilabial nasal.

Final Rhyme

ing

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: -ing rhymes with 'sing' or 'ring'

Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'm-' (m) with final '-ing' (eeng).

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises like asking a question in English: 'What?' or 'Really?'

Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 3 syllable, míng changes to a rising tone, but standard dictionary citation remains Tone 2.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse with mìn or mīng; ensure the ending is the nasal velar ng sound.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand gesture starting from your chest and moving upward and outward to the right, matching the rising pitch of Tone 2.

33. Writing8 strokes · animate & practice

1 / 1

Topology:Left-right

Strokes:8 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (口) should be compact and placed slightly higher, while the right side (鸟) stretches downward to balance the overall width.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form (鳴) features a complex bird character (鳥) on the right, which was simplified to a streamlined bird component (鸟).

44. Components

Radical 鸟 · Bird Radical (bird)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 鸟 (indicates animal cries or bird relation)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 口 (original sound: míng)

A mouth (口) next to a bird (鸟) symbolizes the sound or cry coming out of a creature's beak.

口mouth / speaking / voicing
鸟bird

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 鸣 (míng)

Characters sharing this phonetic root have similar sounds:

Phonetic Core (声旁)HSK 7Current

鸣

míng

to cry, chirp, or make a sound

+ 鳥 (bird)HSK 7

鳴

míng

to cry, chirp, or make a sound

55. HistoryOriginally depicted a bird with a prominent mouth or beak, emphasizing its ca...

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted a bird with a prominent mouth or beak, emphasizing its call. Over time, the mouth element was standardized into 口 and combined with 鸟.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from literal bird calls to any animal sound, ringing bells, and metaphorically voicing inner thoughts or grievances.

In ancient times, '鸣' was heavily associated with auspicious or prophetic bird cries.

66. SinosphereSino-Vietnamese minh · Kanji (Japanese) メイ (mei) · Hanja (Korean) 명

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

minh

Mandarin Tone 2 corresponds roughly to a rising inflection in loanword contexts.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: メイ (mei) / Kun: な.く (na.ku)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

명

Sound Shift Bridge: Shares roots across East Asian Sinosphere terms like 'imei' or 'myung' reflecting bright or sounding concepts.

77. Memory

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

鸡(jī)

Chicken uses 又 on the right instead of the full bird 鸟.

88. Mastery清晨，窗外的鸟儿开始[___]叫了。

Active Recall Challenge

清晨，窗外的鸟儿开始[___]叫了。

Clue: míng

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the left and right placement or writing the complex traditional bird character instead of the simplified 鸟.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 鸣, what is its primary meaning regarding animals and what is the pinyin?

Production: How do you write the character for a bird making a sound, and what are its two components?

🎬 Videos12 clips · real-world usage

鸣míngto cry, chirp, or make a sound

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