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抱頭痛哭

简抱头痛哭 · 繁抱頭痛哭

Mandarin · pinyin bào tóu tòng kū

to weep disconsolately
to cry on each other's shoulder

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Characters in this entry

抱: bào · embrace, hold in arms, enfold
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
痛: tòng · pain, ache; sorry, sad; bitter
哭: kū · weep, cry, wail
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–1 · bao4 tou2 tong4 ku1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

抱頭痛哭 · find source passages ↗ · 抱头痛哭 · find source passages ↗

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to weep in each other's arms; to cry on each other's shoulders

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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