Dictionary › 唉

唉

āi

HSK 5 Character

What 唉 means

1. interjection or grunt of agreement or recognition (e.g. yes, it's me!)
2. to sigh

Other readings

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

• àialas; oh dear

Example sentences

• 唉唷喂啊！
  Whoopsie!
• 唉呀！我差点忘记了！
  āi ya! wǒ chàdiǎn wàngjì le!
  Oh, no! I almost forgot!
• 唉！我的电脑又当机了。
  āi! wǒ de diànnǎo yòu dàngjī le.
  Argh! My computer froze up again.
• “唉，算了吧，”狄马心想：“这实在不是挑三挑四的时候。”
  “ āi, suànle ba,” dí mǎ xīnxiǎng:“ zhè shízài bù shì tiāo sān tiāo sì de shíhou.”
  "Oh, well..." thought Dima. "I suppose that I can't be picky at a time like this."
• 「唉，算了吧，」狄马心想：「这实在不是挑三挑四的时候。」
  "Oh, well..." thought Dima. "I suppose that I can't be picky at a time like this."
• 我们的先驱者中许多还活着...但是，唉，其中有许多已经死了。
  Wǒmen de xiānqūzhě zhōng xǔduō hái huózhe... dànshì, āi, qízhōng yǒu xǔduō yǐjīng sǐ le.
  Many of our pioneers are still alive... but, alas, many of them aren't alive any more.

Words starting with 唉

• 唉声叹气āi shēng tàn qìsighing voice, wailing breath (idiom); to heave deep sighs; to sigh in despair
• 唉唉āi āi(onomatopoeia) sighing voice; crying sound
• 唉姐āi jiěgranny (dialect)

Characters built on 矣

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

• 埃āidust; dirt; angstrom
• 挨āiin order; in sequence; close to; adjacent to
• 欸āi(indicating response); (sadly sighing); also pr. èi

Characters that look like 唉

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

• 哦éto chant
• 唤huànto call
• 狼lángwolf
• 唆suō(bound form) to incite; to instigate
• 哧chī(onomatopoeia) giggling; breathing; tearing of paper, ripping of fabric etc
• 唏xīsound of sobbing

Sounds the same

Read āi, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 哎hey!; (interjection used to attract attention or to express surprise or disapprobation)
• 哀(bound form) sorrow; grief; pity; (bound form) to grieve for; to pity; to lament…
• 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