TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
哭
哭 ＝ 吅 ＋ 獄
ㄎㄨ · kū
verb — to cry, weep, wail
字源 FORM — what the parts do
吅義two mouths together, voices wailing
獄聲yù — the sound, abbreviated and worn until the bottom reads as a dog 犬獄省聲; what you see beneath the mouths is 犬
IFTyù → kū — the donor sound is buried; the reading went its own way
Two mouths (吅) crying out together — the sound of grief. Beneath them sits an abbreviated 獄 yù for the sound, worn down until what's left looks like a dog (犬). Voices breaking into tears: 哭泣、痛哭、大哭.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
兩張嘴（吅）齊聲嚎，底下一隻狗（犬）也跟著叫——哭成一團。
Two mouths (吅) wail together, and beneath them a dog (犬) joins in — the whole thing breaks into crying.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)哀聲、哭泣— to wail, weep常用
→痛哭、大哭— to cry hard常用
⇒哭訴— to complain through tears
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
吅xuānthe lookalike — 吅 is the bare pair of mouths; 哭 sets the worn /犬 beneath them