哀思 (āi sī) — sad memories of the deceased; grief

Definition

A literary word for 'grief' or 'sad memories of the deceased,' typically used in formal or written contexts like memorial services or poems.

noun

sad memories of the deceasedgrief

，哀思。
Qīng míng jié, rén men yòng xiān huā jì tuō āi sī.
During Qingming Festival, people express their grief with fresh flowers.
哀思。
Tā xiě le xǔ duō shī lái biǎo dá duì mǔ qīn de āi sī.
He wrote many poems to express his grief for his mother.
，，哀思。
Zài zhuī dào huì shàng, dà jiā mò mò āi dào, mǎn huái āi sī.
At the memorial service, everyone mourned silently, full of grief.

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.

思sīthoughts/memories

哀 means sad, and 思 means thoughts or memories, giving sad memories of the deceased.

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

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.

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

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

囟

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 思, 心 (heart) points to thinking, while the top part is a changed form of 囟, which supplied the sound.