TongTong
Sign in

哀伤 (āi shāng) — grieved, sad, sorrowful

Definition

Literary word for deep, lingering sorrow — stronger and more written than 悲伤, with a mournful, elegiac tone. Mostly used in writing, poetry, or formal speech.

adjective
grievedsadsorrowful

Examples

  • ，哀伤。
    Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā gǎn dào fēi cháng āi shāng.
    Upon hearing this news, he felt very grieved.
  • 哀伤。
    Tā de yǎn lǐ chōng mǎn le āi shāng.
    Her eyes were filled with sorrow.
  • 哀伤。
    Nà shǒu āi shāng de qǔ zi ràng rén rěn bú zhù luò lèi.
    That sorrowful piece of music made people unable to hold back tears.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

哀āisorrow
伤shānghurt

哀 and 伤 both express sorrow and hurt, together meaning deeply sad.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
衣
衣yī哀āi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

哀 combines 口 (mouth) with 衣 (yī), which gives it its sound.

Open 哀 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 傷; 伤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
𥏻
𥏻𥏻傷shāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 傷 shows 人, a person, and uses 𥏻 to give the sound; the simplified 伤 is a later shorthand.

Open 伤 →
Appears in
Emotions & Feelings

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.