JLPT N5 · Verb

鳴く (naku)

鳴く (なく, naku) is a Japanese verb meaning “to make sound (of an animal); to call”. It appears in JLPT N5 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.

Reading: なく
Romaji: naku
Word class: Godan verb (う-verb) ending in く
Level: JLPT N5 (unofficial)

Meaning

to make sound (of an animal); to call; to cry; to whine; to sing · godan verb, intransitive
to make a meld call (e.g. pung, kong) · godan verb, intransitive

Example sentences

カエルが鳴いたら帰ろう。

Let's return when the frog croaks.

Tatoeba #226439

あのかわいい鳥は来る日も来る日も鳴いてばかりいた。

That pretty bird did nothing but sing day after day.

Tatoeba #231343

羊は何て鳴くの？

What sound does a sheep make?

Tatoeba #78846

Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.

Conjugation of 鳴く

Godan verb (う-verb) ending in く. Plain and polite forms below; try any other word in the Japanese verb conjugator.

Form	Japanese	Reading
Dictionary	鳴く	なく naku
Polite (~masu)	鳴きます	なきます nakimasu
Negative	鳴かない	なかない nakanai
Polite negative	鳴きません	なきません nakimasen
Past	鳴いた	ないた naita
Polite past	鳴きました	なきました nakimashita
Negative past	鳴かなかった	なかなかった nakanakatta
Te-form	鳴いて	ないて naite
Potential	鳴ける	なける nakeru
Passive	鳴かれる	なかれる nakareru
Causative	鳴かせる	なかせる nakaseru
Volitional	鳴こう	なこう nakou
Imperative	鳴け	なけ nake
Conditional (~ba)	鳴けば	なけば nakeba

Kanji in 鳴く

鳴

chirp, cry, barkメイ・な.く・な.る · 14 strokes

Related words

Other vocabulary sharing a kanji with 鳴く.

鳴るなるto sound鳴らすならすto ring怒鳴るどなるto shout (in anger)共鳴きょうめいresonance悲鳴ひめいshriek

Source: JMdict entry 1532870 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.