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哎呀 (āi yā) — (interjection) expresses surprise, dismay, mild annoyance, or admiration

Definition

A casual two-syllable exclamation for surprise, dismay, or admiration — stronger than 啊 or 呀 (which are lighter surprise sounds), and more emphatic/displeased than 哎.

interjection
expresses surprisedismaymild annoyanceor admiration

Examples

  • 哎呀！？
    āi yā! Nǐ zěn me lái le?
    Wow! How did you come?
  • 哎呀，。
    āi yā, Wǒ yòu wàng jì dài yào shi le.
    Oh no, I forgot to bring my keys again.
  • 哎呀，！
    āi yā, Zhè ge biǎo yǎn zhēn shì tài jīng cǎi le!
    Wow, this performance is really amazing!

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

哎āicry of surprise
呀yacry of surprise

哎 and 呀 are both cries of surprise, and together they intensify the exclamation.

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
艾
艾ài哎āi
Same sound today

哎 pairs 口 (mouth), showing it is a spoken exclamation, with 艾, which gives the sound.

Open 哎 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 呀 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Emotions & Feelings5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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