哀悼 (āi dào) — to mourn (someone's death), to express condolences

Definition

A formal, written verb for publicly mourning someone's death or expressing condolences — stronger and more ceremonial than everyday words like 伤心.

verb
to mourn (someone's death)to express condolences

Examples

  • 哀悼。
    Quán guó rén mín dōu zài āi dào zhè wèi wěi dà de lǐng xiù.
    The whole nation is mourning this great leader.
  • 哀悼。
    Wǒ men xiàng yù nàn zhě jiā shǔ biǎo shì shēn qiè de āi dào.
    We express deep condolences to the families of the victims.
  • 哀悼。
    Tā zài zàng lǐ shàng zhì cí āi dào shì zhě.
    He gave a speech at the funeral to mourn the deceased.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

哀āigrief
悼dàomourn

哀 means grief or mourning and 悼 means mourn; together they mean to express condolences.

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
忄Written in full as心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
卓
卓zhuó悼dào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 悼, the left side 忄 is a narrow form of 心, the heart, marking the feeling of mourning, while the right side 卓 gives the sound.

Open 悼 →
Appears in
Emotions & Feelings

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