哀痛 (āi tòng) — deep sorrow, grief; sorrowful, mournful

Definition

A formal/literary word for deep grief — both the feeling ('deep sorrow') and the outward expression ('mournful'). Stronger than 伤心, which covers everyday sadness.

deep sorrowgriefsorrowfulmournful

Examples

  • ，哀痛。
    Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā xīn zhōng chōng mǎn le āi tòng.
    Upon hearing the news, his heart was filled with deep sorrow.
  • ，哀痛。
    Zàng lǐ shàng, qīn yǒu men biǎo qíng āi tòng.
    At the funeral, the relatives and friends wore mournful expressions.
  • 哀痛。
    Nà chǎng zāi nàn gěi rén men liú xià le wú jìn de āi tòng.
    That disaster left people with endless grief.

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āisorrow
痛tòngpain

哀 and 痛 combine sorrow with pain to express deep grief.

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
疒疒nèillness
Sound part声符shēngfú
甬
甬yǒng痛tòng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The 疒 part means illness, and 甬 gives the sound; together they form 痛, meaning pain or hurt.

Open 痛 →

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