悲哀 (bēi āi) — sorrowful, grieved | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal, written word for 'sorrowful,' stronger and more literary than 难过 or 伤心. It can also name sadness itself as a noun.

adjective

sorrowfulgrieved

Examples

，悲哀。
Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā gǎn dào shí fēn bēi āi.
He felt very sorrowful upon hearing this news.
悲哀。
Tā nà bēi āi de yǎn shén ràng rén xīn téng.
Her sorrowful eyes made people's hearts ache.
，悲哀。
Miàn duì shī bài, tā bìng méi yǒu yì zhí bēi āi xià qù.
Faced with failure, he didn't stay sorrowful forever.

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āisorrowful

悲 and 哀 both express sadness, so together they mean sorrowful or grieved.

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.

非心悲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart; thought; emotion

Sound part声符shēngfú

非

非fēi悲bēi

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

悲 pairs 非 as the sound part with 心, the heart/emotion part.

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

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Emotions & Feelings

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