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呜呼 (wū hū) — (interjection) alas, alack (expressing sorrow, regret, or lament); (formal) oh, alas (used in classical-style writing)

Definition

Classical exclamation meaning 'alas!' — used in formal, literary, or old-fashioned writing to express sorrow or regret, not in everyday speech.

interjection
alasalack (expressing sorrow, regret, or lament)(formal) ohalas (used in classical-style writing)

Examples

  • 呜呼！。
    wū hū! Cǐ zhēn lìng rén shāng xīn yě.
    Alas! This is truly heartbreaking.
  • 呜呼！？
    wū hū! Wú bèi qǐ néng rú cǐ?
    Alas! How can we be like this?
  • 呜呼！。
    wū hū! Tiān bú yòu yě.
    Alas! Heaven does not bless us.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

呜wū
呼hū

The characters 呜 and 呼 carry no meaning of their own here; together they form an exclamation of lament.

Sound-only characters

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 嗚; 呜 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
烏
烏wū嗚wū
Same sound today

The traditional form 嗚 pairs 口 (mouth) with 烏, which gives its sound; the simplified 呜 is a shorthand, and its right side is not a historical sound part.

Open 呜 →

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
乎
乎hū呼hū
Same sound today

呼 uses 口 (mouth) to show exhaling, calling, or shouting, and 乎 gives the sound.

Open 呼 →
Appears in
Emotions & Feelings

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