nakigao 泣き顔

In Japanese, nakigao 泣き顔 means somebody's "crying face." That is, somebody's "face," kao 顔 (gao is rendaku 連濁), when they "cry, "naku 泣く (naki is ren'youkei 連用形).

Not to be confused with nakigoe 鳴き声, which is the sound an animal makes.

Character: Nami ナミ
Anime: One Piece: Episode of Nami: Koukaishi no Namida to Nakama no Kizuna, ワンピースエピソード・オブ・ナミ～航海士の涙と仲間の絆～ (Special)

• Vocabulary
• Examples

Vocabulary

For reference, some words related to crying.

• namida
  涙
  Tears.

Character: Yoshida Yuuko 吉田優子, Shadow Mistress Yuuko, Shamiko シャミ子
Manga: Machikado Mazoku まちカドまぞく (Volume 1, Page 37, まぞく 小盛り汗だくで)

• nanka jijou wa wakaranai kedo
  Shamiko naiteru shi...
  なんか事情は分からないけどシャミ子泣いてるし･･･
  [I'm not sure what's going on], but Shamiko is crying, so...
• kore wa mejiru da!
  This is eye-juice!
• namida dewanai!!
  涙ではない！！
  [It] is not tears!

Character: Elucia de Lute Ima エリュシア・デ・ルート・イーマ
Anime: Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai 神のみぞ知るセカイ (Episode 8)

• namida wo nagasu
  涙を流す
  To cry. "To make tears flow."
• namida ga nagareru
  涙が流れる
  The tears flow.
  • nagareru and nagasu form an ergative verb pair.
• namida ga tomaranai
  涙が止まらない
  The tears won't stop.

Character: Kurumizawa Satanichia McDowell 胡桃沢=サタニキア=マクドウェル
Manga: Gabriel DropOut, ガヴリールドロップアウト (Chapter 3)

• boro boro
  ぼろぼろ
  *tears dropping* (reduplicated phenomime)
  • Not to be confused with the homonym boroboro ボロボロ, which is a phenomime for "battered" instead.

• borori
  ぼろり
  Refers to tears or other liquid dropping, or part of something detaching and dropping.
  • Note: porori ポロリ is generally an NSFW term for wardrobe malfunction.

Character: Hinata Aoi 日向葵
Anime: Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake kayo 俺を好きなのはお前だけかよ (Episode 2)

• namida-me
  涙目
  Teary eyes.
• 泣きそう
  Seeming [to be about] to cry.

Character: Honey-senpai ハニー先輩
Anime: Ouran High School Host Club, Ouran Koukou Hosuto-Bu 桜蘭高校ホスト部 (Episode 12)

• uru-uru-me
  うるうる目
  Watery eyes.

Character: Watanabe Poemi ワタナベぽえみ
Anime: Puni Puni☆Poemii ぷにぷに☆ぽえみぃ (Episode 2)

• taki-namida
  滝涙
  Waterfall of tears.

Character: Ono 小野
Anime: Eizouken niwa Te wo Dasu na! 映像研には手を出すな！ (Episode 5)

• hanamizu
  鼻水
  "Nose water." (literally.)
  Snot.

Character: Hyakuya Yuuichirou 百夜優一郎
Anime: Owari no Seraph 終わりのセラフ (Episode 11)

• chi no namida
  血の涙
  Tears of blood.

Character: Kazanari Tsubasa 風鳴翼
Anime: Senki Zesshou Symphogear, 戦姫絶唱シンフォギア (Episode 4)

• zesshougao
  絶唱顔
  In Symphogear, characters fight by singing, and a zesshou 絶唱, "[ultimate] song," is like their ultimate skill, which, naturally, takes a great toll on their bodies. The term zesshougao, "zesshou face," refers specifically to it.

Some related terms for emotions:

• kanashii
  悲しい
  Sad. To be sad.
  • kanashisa
    悲しさ
    Sadness. (sa-form)
• kuyashii
  悔しい
  Frustrated. Vexed.
  • kuyashisa
    悔しさ
    Frustration. Vexation. (sa-form)
• ikari
  怒り
  Anger. Wrath. Rage.
  • Ikari no Namida
    怒りの涙
    Tears of Rage. (a song partially composed by Bob Dylan.)
• zetsubou
  絶望
  Despair. Hopelessness.
• doujou
  同情
  Literally "same feeling." Sympathy. Pity.
• yorokobi
  喜び
  Joy.
• anshin
  安心
  Relief.
• kandou
  感動
  Moved. (emotionally.)
  Feeling moved. Being moved by something emotional.

Examples

For reference, some examples of anime characters crying, because why not.

Left: Midoriya Izuku 緑谷出久 (son)
Right: Midoriya Inko 緑谷インコ (mother)
Anime: Boku no Hero Academia, 僕のヒーローアカデミア (Episode 1)

Character: Mukaido Manaka 向井戸まなか
Anime: Nagi no Asu Kara 凪のあすから (Episode 10)

Character: Dekomori Sanae 凸守早苗
Anime: Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! 中二病でも恋がしたい！ (Episode 11)

Character: Sento Isuzu 千斗いすず
Anime: Amagi Brilliant Park, 甘城ブリリアントパーク (Episode 13)

Character: Jean-Pierre Polnareff ジャン＝ピエール・ポルナレフ
Anime: JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 - Part 3: Stardust Crusaders (Episode 10)

Character: Anzu アンズ
Anime: Hinamatsuri ヒナまつり (Episode 6)