致哀 (zhì āi) — to express grief; to mourn (formal, used in the… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal verb meaning 'to express grief / mourn,' used in set phrases like 向…致哀, typically for the deceased, victims, or in disaster contexts. Not everyday speech.

verb

to express griefto mourn (formal, used in the pattern 向...致哀)

Examples

，致哀。
Quán tǐ qǐ lì, xiàng yù nàn zhě zhì āi.
Everyone stood up to mourn the victims.
致哀。
Tā men xiàng liè shì mù xiàn huā zhì āi.
They laid flowers at the martyrs' graves to express their grief.
，致哀。
Guó jiā lǐng dǎo rén fā biǎo jiǎng huà, xiàng zāi qū rén mín zhì āi.
The national leader gave a speech to express condolences to the people in the disaster area.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

致 “offer” and 哀 “grief” combine to mean offering 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.

至攵致

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攵Written in full as攴pū

Sound part声符shēngfú

至

至zhì致zhì

Same sound today

致 pairs 至, used for its sound, with 攵, written in full as 攴.

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.

Appears in

Emotions & Feelings

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