Dictionary › 哀

哀

āi

HSK 6 Character

What 哀 means

1. bound formsorrow; grief; pity
2. bound formto grieve for; to pity; to lament; to condole

Other readings

哀 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• ĀiAi (c. 2000 BC), sixth of legendary Flame Emperors {炎帝|Yán dì} descended from Shennong {神农

Example sentences

• 哀莫大于心死
  āimòdàyúxīnsǐ
  Nothing is more sad than stupidity and apathy.
• 汤姆正在哀悼。
  Tom is in mourning.
• 她的眼神里充满了悲哀。
  Tā de yǎnshén lǐ chōngmǎn le bēi'āi.
  Her eyes were full of sadness.
• 寡妇为她的丈夫哀悼了很久。
  Guǎfu wèi tā de zhàngfu āidào le hěn jiǔ.
  The widow mourned her husband for a long time.
• 俄罗斯对在人质事件中牺牲的人们表示哀悼。
  éluósī duì zài rénzhì shìjiàn zhōng xīshēng de rénmen biǎoshì āidào.
  Russia expresses regret for those lost in the hostage incident.
• 过了一会儿，小黑兔就坐了下来，脸上的神情十分哀伤。
  Guo le yīhuìr, xiǎo hēi tù jiù zuò le xiàlai, liǎn shàng de shénqíng shífēn āishāng.
  After a while, the little black rabbit sat down, and looked very sad.

Words starting with 哀

• 哀求āi qiúto entreat; to implore; to plead
• 哀伤āi shānggrief; distress; bereavement; grieved; heartbroken; dejected
• 哀怨āi yuàngrief; resentment; aggrieved
• 哀悼āi dàoto grieve over sb's death; to lament sb's death; mourning
• 哀愁āi chóusorrow; sadness; distressed; sorrowful
• 哀叹āi tànto sigh; to lament; to bewail
• 哀号āi háoto wail; to cry piteously (variant of 哀嚎
• 哀乐āi yuèfuneral music; plaint; dirge
• 哀思āi sīgrief-stricken thoughts; mourning
• 哀痛āi tòngto grieve; to mourn; deep sorrow; grief
• 哀鸣āi míng(of animals, the wind etc) to make a mournful sound; whine; moan; wail
• 哀嚎āi háoto wail; to cry piteously; (of a wild animal) to howl
• 哀告āi gàoto beg piteously; to supplicate
• 哀哭āi kūto weep in sorrow
• 哀启āi qǐobituary (archaic term)
• 哀失āi shībereavement
• 哀子āi zǐson orphaned of his mother
• 哀家āi jiāI, me (self-referring by a widowed empress etc, used in historical novels and operas)
• 哀平Āi Píngjoint name for the Han dynasty emperors Aidi (reigned 7-1 BC) and Pingdi…
• 哀怜āi liánto feel compassion for; to pity
• 哀荣āi róng(literary) reverence accorded to sb who has died; posthumous recognition
• 哀歌āi gēmournful song; dirge; elegy
• 哀辞āi cídirge; lament
• 哀兵必胜āi bīng bì shèngan army burning with righteous indignation is bound to win (idiom)

Words containing 哀

• 悲哀bēi āigrieved; sorrowful
• 喜怒哀乐xǐ nù āi lè(lit.) happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy (idiom); (fig.) emotions
• 默哀mò āito observe a moment of silence in tribute
• 可哀kě āimiserably
• 致哀zhì āito express grief; to mourn
• 志哀zhì āito pay respects to the dead; to mark sb's passing
• 唐哀帝Táng Āi dìEmperor Aidi of Tang, reign name of twenty-first and last Tang emperor Li Zhu 李祝
• 孤哀子gū āi zǐ(literary) orphan
• 莫里哀Mò lǐ āiMolière (1622-1673), French playwright and actor, master of comedy
• 生荣死哀shēng róng sǐ āito be respected in life and lamented in death (idiom)
• 节哀顺变jié āi shùn biànrestrain your grief, accept fate (condolence phrase)
• 苦苦哀求kǔ kǔ āi qiúto entreat piteously; to implore
• 耶利米哀歌Yē lì mǐ āi gēthe Lamentations of Jeremiah
• 腹哀fù āiAbdominal Lament; acupuncture point SP 16
• 乞哀告怜qǐ āi gào liánbegging for pity and asking for help (idiom)
• 凄哀qī āidesolate; mournful
• 呜呼哀哉wū hū āi zāialas; all is lost

Characters built on 衣

These share the phonetic component 衣 (yī), which is why their readings rhyme. Learning them as a family is far cheaper than learning them one at a time.

• 裁cáito cut out (as a dress); to cut; to trim
• 袋dàipouch; bag; sack

Characters that look like 哀

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 莫mòdo not; there is none who
• 桌zhuōtable; desk; classifier for tables of guests at a banquet etc
• 泉quánspring (small stream); mouth of a spring; coin (archaic)
• 衰shuāi(bound form) to decay; to decline; to wane
• 衷zhōnginner feelings
• 衮gǔnimperial robe

Sounds the same

Read āi, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 哎hey!; (interjection used to attract attention or to express surprise or disapprobation)
• 唉interjection or grunt of agreement or recognition (e.g. yes, it's me!); to sigh
• 挨in order; in sequence; close to; adjacent to
• 埃dust; dirt; angstrom
• 欸(indicating response); (sadly sighing); also pr. èi
• 銰character used in Korea in former times to represent the syllable "ngai"
• 锿einsteinium (chemistry)
• 娭see 娭姐; granny (dialect); respectful form of address for older lady