哀叹 (āi tàn) — to lament, to bewail

Definition

verb
to lamentto bewail

Examples

  • 哀叹。
    Tā cháng cháng āi tàn mìng yùn de bù gōng píng.
    He often laments the unfairness of fate.
  • ，哀叹。
    Miàn duì shī bài, tā bù tíng dì āi tàn.
    Facing failure, he kept lamenting.
  • 哀叹。
    Tā wèi shī qù de qīng chūn ér āi tàn.
    She laments for the lost youth.

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āisorrow
叹tànsigh

哀 adds sorrow to 叹, a sigh, so the word means to lament or bewail.

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 嘆; 叹 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 叹 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 嘆; in others it is 歎.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
歎
歎tàn嘆tàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 嘆 pairs 口 (mouth) with 歎 as the sound part; it shows a mouth letting out a sigh.

Open 叹 →

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