哀 (āi): Ai (c. 2000 BC), sixth of legendary Flame Emperors 炎帝 descended from Shennong 神農|神农 Farmer God, also known as Li 釐|厘, (bound form) sorrow, grief, pity, (bound form) to grieve for, to pity, to lament, to condole
哀 (āi) is a Chinese character meaning “ai (c. 2000 bc), sixth of legendary flame emperors 炎帝 descended from shennong 神農|神农 farmer god, also known as li 釐|厘.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 衣 (phonetic) and 口 (semantic). It ranks #1735 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 哀 mouth. Its radical form 口 (mouth) appears in many related characters such as 口 (kǒu, mouth), 叫 (jiào, to call, to be called), 右 (yòu, (bound form) right).
Definitions
- Ai (c. 2000 BC), sixth of legendary Flame Emperors 炎帝 descended from Shennong 神農|神农 Farmer God, also known as Li 釐|厘
- (bound form) sorrow
- grief
- pity
- (bound form) to grieve for
- to pity
- to lament
- to condole
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 悲哀 | bēi āi | grieved |
| 哀悼 | āi dào | to grieve over sb's death |
| 哀伤 | āi shāng | grief |
| 哀求 | āi qiú | to entreat |
| 默哀 | mò āi | to observe a moment of silence in tribute |
| 致哀 | zhì āi | to express grief |
| 哀号 | āi háo | to cry piteously |
| 喜怒哀乐 | xǐ nù āi lè | lit. happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy (idiom) |
| 哀思 | āi sī | grief-stricken thoughts |
| 哀嚎 | āi háo | to howl in grief |
| 哀怨 | āi yuàn | grief |
| 哀叹 | āi tàn | to sigh |
| 哀痛 | āi tòng | to grieve |
| 哀愁 | āi chóu | sorrow |
| 莫里哀 | mò lǐ āi | Molière (1622-1673), French playwright and actor, master of comedy |
哀 appears in 58 compound words: 71 as the first character, 16 as the last, and 14 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 哀 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (12)
Lament for the South, long poem in Fu style by Yu Xin 庾信 mourning the passing of Liang of the Southern dynasties 南朝梁朝
to restrain one's grief and accept fate (used to console family of a deceased person); my condolences
a land of wailing and despair; land swarming with disaster victims; disaster victims moaning everywhere
synonym of 哀毀骨立 /哀毁骨立 (āihuǐgǔlì, “to be emaciated with grief at one's parents' death”)
Lament for the South, long poem in Fu style by Yu Xin 庾信 mourning the passing of Liang of the Southern dynasties 南朝梁朝
to restrain one's grief and accept fate (used to console family of a deceased person); my condolences
a land of wailing and despair; land swarming with disaster victims; disaster victims moaning everywhere
synonym of 哀毀骨立 /哀毁骨立 (āihuǐgǔlì, “to be emaciated with grief at one's parents' death”)
Example Sentences
妈妈哀嘱我要按时吃饭，注意身体健康。
mā mā āi zhǔ wǒ yāo àn shí chī fàn , zhù yì shēn tī jiàn kāng .
Mom earnestly urged me to eat on time and take care of my health.
罗礼士86岁去世!阿诺、史特龙哀伤不舍 台湾影迷称他去找李小龙
luó lǐ shì 8 6 suì qù shì ! ā nuò , shǐ tè lóng āi shāng bù shě tái wān yǐng mí chèn tā qù zhǎo lǐ xiǎo lóng
Ralph Fiennes Passes Away at 86! Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone Mourn His Loss; Taiwanese Fans Say He’s Gone to Be with Bruce Lee
哀悼和反思:“好人哈贝马斯”和曾经追随他的...
āi dào hé fǎn sī : hǎo rén hā bèi mǎ sī hé céng jīng zhuī suí tā de . . .
Mourning and Reflection: “Habermas the Good Man” and Those Who Once Followed Him...
伊朗证实拉里贾尼已遇难 伊总统深切哀悼
yī lǎng zhèng shí lā lǐ gǔ ní yǐ yù nán yī zǒng tǒng shēn qiē āi dào
Iran Confirms Larijani's Death; Iranian President Expresses Deep Condolences
勤益科大越籍女大生新北骑车遇死劫 师生哀悼:她毕业留台...竟成遗恨
qín yì kē dà yuè jí nǚ dà shēng xīn běi qí chē yù sǐ jié shī shēng āi dào : tā bì yè liú tái . . . jìng chéng yí hèn
Teachers and students mourned: She graduated and stayed in Taiwan... It turned out to be a regret
屏东下黑雪? 杂草大火灰烬飘进家居民哀嚎“扫都扫不完”
bǐng dōng xià hēi xuě ? zá cǎo dà huǒ huī 烬 piāo jìn jiā jū mín āi 嚎 sǎo dōu sǎo bù wán
Black snow falling in Pingtung? The ashes of the weed fire drifted into the house, and the residents wailed that "they can't be swept away"
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.
她的眼神里充满了悲哀。
Tā de yǎnshén lǐ chōngmǎn le bēi'āi.
Her eyes were full of sadness.
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.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 哀 (āi) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 哀 and 依?
How many strokes does 哀 have?
What is the radical of 哀?
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What are common words containing 哀?
What characters sound the same as 哀 (āi)?
Is 哀 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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