kū

堀

Character · Noun · VerbTraditional哭

archaic: cave; to bore a hole

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Meanings

2 senses · 4 examples
1.

noun

archaic form of 窟 (cave; hole)

archaic

This is an archaic variant character for '窟', used in ancient texts. In modern usage, the character 哭 means 'to cry'.

 《
Jí集
yùn韵
 》
zǎi载
 ：
 “
kū哭
 ，
xué穴
yě也
 。
 ”

The 'Jiyun' dictionary records: 'Kū means a cave.'

Gǔ古
wén文
zhōng中
 “
kū哭
 ”
huò或
yòng用
zuò作
 “
kū窟
 ”
de的
yì异
tǐ体
zì字
 。

In classical texts, '哭' is sometimes used as a variant form of '窟' (cave).

2.

verb

archaic: to bore a hole; to dig through

archaic

An ancient meaning related to creating or passing through a hole or tunnel. This usage is obsolete in modern Chinese.

Jù据
 《
Shuō说
wén文
 》
gǔ古
zhù注
 ，
yǒu有
 “
kū哭
 ，
chuān穿
yě也
 ”
zhī之
shuō说
 。

According to an ancient annotation of the 'Shuowen Jiezi', there is the explanation 'kū means to penetrate.'

Cǐ此
yì义
jīn今
yǐ已
bù不
yòng用
 ，
xiàn现
dài代
 “
kū哭
 ”
wéi为
kū哭
qì泣
zhī之
yì义
 。

This meaning is no longer used today; in modern Chinese, '哭' means to cry.