泣く

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 泣く(なく) means shedding tears in response to feelings or sensations such as sadness or pain.
• Basic usage: It is used for not crying immediately after a fall or being moved to tears by a film.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The spelling compared with 鳴く
  • The identically pronounced 鳴く(なく) describes birds, animals, and similar creatures making sounds. A bird's call uses a different spelling from 泣く, which refers to shedding tears.