嘶哑 (sī yǎ) — hoarse, husky, gravelly (voice)

Definition

adjective

hoarsehuskygravelly (voice)

，嘶哑。
Tā gǎn mào le, shēng yīn biàn de sī yǎ.
He caught a cold, and his voice became hoarse.
，嘶哑。
Tā hǎn le yì zhěng tiān, sǎng zi dōu sī yǎ le.
She shouted all day, and her throat became hoarse.
嘶哑，。
Nà wèi lǎo gē shǒu de shēng yīn suī rán sī yǎ, dàn hěn yǒu gǎn rǎn lì.
That old singer's voice, though hoarse, is very infectious.

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.

嘶 and 哑 both describe a rough, strained voice, together meaning hoarse.

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.

口斯嘶

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

斯

Same sound today

The shape of 嘶 puts 口 (mouth) next to 斯, which gives the sound.

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 啞; 哑 is its simplified writing.

口亞啞

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

亞

亞yā啞

Same sound today

In the traditional form 啞, 口 shows the idea of mouth, and 亞 supplies the pronunciation; the simplified 哑 is a later shorthand.