How to say "whine" in Japanese

• 弱音よわねCommon
  nounCovers the complaint sense of 'whine': a feeble complaint or expression of weakness, with no crying sound implied. Fits someone grumbling that a task is too hard or that they cannot go on.
• 泣き声なきごえCommon
  nounRefers to the sound itself: the cry, sob or whine of a person in tears, such as a baby. Choose it when 'whine' describes a crying voice rather than a complaint.
  病気びょうきの子こどもの痛いたましい泣き声なきごえを聞きくのは我々われわれには耐たえられなかった。↗

  We could not bear to listen to the sick child's pathetic cries.
• 鳴くなくJLPT N5approx.Common
  godan verb, intransitive verbA verb for the sounds animals make; its 'whine' sense is an animal's whimper, as of a dog. It does not cover human whining, and whining is only one of many sounds it describes.
  羊ひつじは何なんて鳴なくの？↗

  What sound does a sheep make?

Choose 弱音 for whining in the sense of feeble complaint, 「泣き声」 for the whining sound of a crying person such as a baby, and 「鳴く」 for animals, for which whining is only one of many sounds.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 弱音よわねfeeble complaint
• 泣き声なきごえcry (e.g. of a baby)
• 鳴くなくto make sound (of an animal)
• クンクン鳴くクンクンなくto whine (of a dog)
• 弱音をはくよわねをはくto whine
• 駄々をこねるだだをこねるto be unreasonable
• わがままを言うわがままをいうto be unreasonable
• 愚痴をこぼすぐちをこぼすto whinge
• 悲鳴を上げるひめいをあげるto whine