哀嚎 (āi háo) — to wail, to cry piteously (of a person); (of an animal) to howl

Definition

哀嚎 (āi háo) means 'to wail' in a prolonged, grief-stricken way — people crying in deep sorrow, or animals howling mournfully. The 哀 carries the mourning/sorrow tone that plain 嚎 (to howl/yell) lacks.

verb
to wailto cry piteously (of a person)(of an animal) to howl
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，哀嚎。
    Zài hán lěng de yè wǎn, wǒ néng tīng dào yě láng de āi háo shēng.
    On cold nights, I can hear the howling of wolves.
  • 哀嚎。
    Shī qù qīn rén de fù nǚ zài jiē shàng āi háo bù zhǐ.
    The woman who lost her family kept wailing in the street.
  • 哀嚎，。
    Nà ge shòu shāng de shì bīng bú duàn āi háo, lìng rén xīn suì.
    The wounded soldier kept wailing, heartbreaking.

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āisad/piteous
嚎háohowl/wail

哀 means sad or piteous, and 嚎 means to howl, so the wailing is piteous.

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kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
豪
豪háo嚎háo
Same sound today

嚎 combines 口 (mouth) with 豪, which gives it its sound.

Open 嚎 →

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