哉 (zāi): (exclamatory or interrogative particle)
哉 (zāi) is a Chinese character meaning “(exclamatory or interrogative particle).” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 口 (semantic). It ranks #3762 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 哉 mouth. Its radical form 口 (mouth) appears in many related characters such as 口 (kǒu, mouth), 吃 (chī, to eat), 喝 (hē, to drink).
Definitions
- (exclamatory or interrogative particle)
Etymology & Origin
pictophoneticmouth
Stroke Order
Practice writing 哉 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 优哉游哉phrase | yōu zāi yóu zāi | see 悠哉悠哉 |
| 幸甚至哉 | xìng shèn zhì zāi | filled with joy (quotation from poems by Cao Cao 曹操) |
| 圣哉经 | shèng zāi jīng | Sanctus (section of Catholic mass) |
| 善哉interjection | shàn zāi | excellent |
| 呜呼哀哉interjection | wū hū āi zāi | alas |
| 悠哉游哉 | yōu zāi yóu zāi | see 悠哉悠哉 |
| 悠哉adjective | yōu zāi | see 悠哉悠哉 |
| 悠哉悠哉phrase | yōu zāi yōu zāi | free and unconstrained (idiom) |
哉 appears in 8 compound words: 0 as the first character, 50 as the last, and 50 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 哉 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
我们想看演出，还带着老人，就选了清明上河园，白天逛园子，晚上看表演，岂不美哉？
wǒ men xiǎng kàn yǎn chū , hái dài zhe lǎo rén , jiù xuǎn le qīng míng shàng hé yuán , bái tiān guàng yuán zǐ , wǎn shàng kàn biǎo yǎn , qǐ bù měi zāi ?
We wanted to see a show, and since we had our elderly relatives with us, we chose the Along the River During the Qingming Festival Park. Strolling through the park during the day and watching a performance at night—isn’t that just wonderful?
当天，该馆基本陈列“大哉孔子展”开幕。
dāng tiān , gāi guǎn jī běn chén liè dà zāi kǒng zǐ zhǎn kāi mù .
On that day, the museum’s permanent exhibition, “The Great Confucius,” opened.
《非妖哉》并没有一个全然成熟的剧本。
fēi yāo zāi bìng méi yǒu yī gè quán rán chéng shú de jù běn .
"Not a Demon" doesn't have a fully developed script.
韩国队处于A组，已连续11次打进世界杯决赛圈，以孙兴慜、金玟哉、李刚仁等球星为核心。
hán guó duì chǔ yú A zǔ , yǐ lián xù 1 1 cì dǎ jìn shì jiè bēi jué sài quān , yǐ sūn xīng 慜 , jīn 玟 zāi , lǐ gāng rén děng qiú xīng wéi hé xīn .
The South Korean national team is in Group A and has qualified for the World Cup finals for 11 consecutive tournaments, with stars such as Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, and Lee Kang-in leading the squad.
韩国队以孙兴慜、金玟哉等球员为代表，个人能力和身体对抗水平突出。
hán guó duì yǐ sūn xīng 慜 , jīn 玟 zāi děng qiú yuán wéi dài biǎo , gè rén néng lì hé shēn tǐ duì kàng shuǐ píng tū chū .
The South Korean team, led by players such as Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae, stands out for its individual skill and physical strength.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 哉 (zāi) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 哉 have?
What is the radical of 哉?
What are the components of 哉?
What are common words containing 哉?
Is 哉 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 哉 with real-time feedback
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