Word Meaning 閑古鳥が鳴く

かんこどりがなく kankodori ga naku

閑古鳥が鳴く is read as かんこどりがなく (kankodori ga naku) and means to be quiet (due to lack of activity).

Meaning

English

to be quiet (due to lack of activity)
to be in a slump (of a business)

Reading

Kana

かんこどりがなく

Romaji

kankodori ga naku

Stroke Sequence

6 Characters • 48 Total Strokes

Study Signals and Categories

JLPT N1 Jōyō Upper Grade Kanken 準2級 Proverb ✓ Rank 139458 Priority V

Related Vocabulary

Max. 12

閑古鳥

かんこどり

cuckoo

小夜鳴き鳥

さよなきどり

nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)

鳴き鳥

なきどり

songbird

閑静

かんせい

quiet (e.g. neighbourhood)

閑散

かんさん

idle

閑日月

かんじつげつ

leisure

閑話休題

かんわきゅうだい

getting back to the subject at hand, ...

閑文字

かんもじ

idle words (in a written passage)

鳴く

なく

to make a meld call (e.g. pung, kong)

古典

こてん

classic (work, esp. book)

履き古し

はきふるし

worn-out shoes

古臭い

ふるくさい

stale

Example Sentences

ウチだって閑古鳥が鳴くようなカツカツの状態だから、バイトを雇う余裕なんてない。

We're in a slump, barely scraping by, so we certainly don't have the margin to take on a part-time worker.