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哀 (āi) — (bound form) sorrowful, lamenting, tragic (used in compound words)

Definition

A literary/bound root meaning 'sorrow, grief' — never used alone, only in compounds like 悲哀 (sad), 哀悼 (mourn), 哀伤 (grief). Far more formal than the everyday 伤心.

bound form
sorrowfullamentingtragic (used in compound words)

Examples

  • 。
    Tā duì zhè ge xiāo xi gǎn dào fēi cháng bēi āi.
    He felt very sorrowful about this news.
  • 。
    Quán guó rén mín dōu zài āi dào zhè wèi wěi dà de lǐng xiù.
    The whole nation is mourning this great leader.
  • 。
    Tā de yǎn shén lǐ chōng mǎn le āi shāng.
    Her eyes were filled with grief.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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.

Appears in
Emotions & Feelings

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