哀叫 (āi jiào) — to howl in pain, to cry out in anguish

Definition

哀叫 (āi jiào) is an onomatopoeic-style verb for a wailing, anguished cry — from people or animals in suffering. It emphasizes the mournful, pitiful tone of the sound, more literary than everyday 叫.

verb
to howl in painto cry out in anguish

Examples

  • 哀叫。
    Shòu shāng de gǒu zài lù biān bù tíng dì āi jiào.
    The injured dog kept howling in pain by the roadside.
  • 哀叫，。
    Tīng dào tā de āi jiào shēng, dà jiā gǎn jǐn pǎo guò qù bāng máng.
    Hearing his cries of pain, everyone rushed over to help.
  • 哀叫。
    Yè lǐ chuán lái yí zhèn qī cǎn de āi jiào.
    A burst of miserable howling came through the night.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

哀āisorrowful
叫jiàocry out

“哀” gives the sense of sorrow or pain to “叫”, so the word means to cry out in anguish.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
丩
丩jiū叫jiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

叫 shows a mouth 口 and a sound part 丩. The mouth fits the old sense of shouting.

Open 叫 →

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