叹 (tàn): to sigh, to exclaim
叹 (tàn) is a Chinese character meaning “to sigh.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 口 (structural) and 又 (structural). It ranks #1291 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 叹 a mouth 口 exhaling 又. 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
- to sigh
- to exclaim
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA mouth 口 exhaling 又
Decomposition: ⿰口又 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 叹 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 惊叹 | jīng tàn | to exclaim in admiration |
| 叹息 | tàn xī | to sigh |
| 叹气 | tàn qì | to sigh |
| 叹为观止 | tàn wéi guān zhǐ | (idiom) to gasp in amazement |
| 赞叹 | zàn tàn | to exclaim in admiration |
| 感叹 | gǎn tàn | to sigh (with feeling) |
| 感叹号 | gǎn tàn hào | exclamation mark ! (punct.) |
| 悲叹 | bēi tàn | to bewail |
| 唉声叹气 | āi shēng tàn qì | sighing voice, wailing breath (idiom) |
| 咏叹调 | yǒng tàn diào | aria |
| 哀叹 | āi tàn | to sigh |
| 感叹词 | gǎn tàn cí | interjection (part of speech) |
| 惊叹号 | jīng tàn hào | exclamation mark ! (punct.) |
| 叹服 | tàn fú | (to gasp) with admiration |
| 叹词 | tàn cí | interjection |
叹 appears in 37 compound words: 24 as the first character, 49 as the last, and 27 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 叹 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (11)
to lament one's littleness in face of something vast and great; to feel powerless in face of a great task
to stare at the ceiling in despair; to find no way out; nothing you can do about it
to lament one's littleness in face of something vast and great; to feel powerless in face of a great task
to stare at the ceiling in despair; to find no way out; nothing you can do about it
Example Sentences
他叹才很好，能言善辩，是个出色的律师。
tā tàn cái hěn hǎo , néng yán shàn biàn , shì gě chū sè de lǜ shī .
He was a brilliant lawyer, eloquent and persuasive.
蒋万安推3大新政挨批仓促上路 绿议员叹欠缺沟通:别把好事给做坏
蒋 wàn ān tuī 3 dà xīn zhèng āi pī cāng cù shàng lù lǜ yì yuán tàn qiàn quē gōu tōng : bié bǎ hǎo shì gěi zuò huài
Jiang Wan'an pushed the three new policies and was criticized for rushing on the road, and the green lawmaker lamented the lack of communication: Don't do good things badly
基隆检察官涉放高利贷羁押禁见 学者叹:损害司法人员形象
jī lóng jiǎn chá guān shè fàng gāo lì dài 羁 yā jīn jiàn xué zhě tàn : sǔn hài sī fǎ rén yuán xíng xiàng
Keelung prosecutor involved in usury detention and ban Scholars sighed: Damaging the image of judicial personnel
财政预算案| 幻彩咏香江将成历史 市民叹惋惜冀增元素后保留
cái zhèng yù suàn àn huàn cǎi yǒng xiāng jiāng jiāng chéng lì shǐ shì mín tàn wǎn xī 冀 zēng yuán sù hòu bǎo liú
Budget | The Symphony of Lights will become history, and the public sighs and hopes to retain the elements after adding them
陪彭佳慧走过婚变、事业低潮换绝情! 她叹:一个没心没肺的艺人
péi 彭 jiā huì zǒu guò hūn biàn , shì yè dī cháo huàn jué qíng ! tā tàn : yī gè méi xīn méi fèi de yì rén
Accompany Peng Jiahui through the marriage changes and career lows for heartlessness! She sighed: A heartless artist
组图:太阳风暴来袭时 出现令人惊叹的极光
zǔ tú : tài yáng fēng bào lái xí shí chū xiàn lìng rén jīng tàn de jí guāng
Picture: Stunning aurora appears when a solar storm hits
看见这副景象，我不禁叹了口气。
Kànjiàn zhè fù jǐngxiàng, wǒ bù jìn tàn le kǒuqì.
Seeing this scene, I couldn’t help but sigh.
“我丢了钱包。”约翰叹息道。
"wǒ diū le qiánbāo." Yuēhàn tànxī dào.
"I've lost my wallet," John sighed.
感叹号是标点符号。
Gǎntànhào shì biāodiǎn fúhào.
An exclamation mark is a punctuation mark.
汤姆大声叹了口气。
Tāngmǔ dàshēng tàn le kǒu qì.
Tom let out a big sigh.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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