唉

āi
HSK 5
#2,087 most
frequent character
interjection or grunt of agreement or recognition (e.g. yes, it's me!)

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

唉 starts from 口, the mouth, as its meaning part, with 矣 yǐ supplying the sound, a loose match. It first meant the sound of answering someone, and from that came sighing. Said ài, it is an exclamation like 'Oh my!'.

Ask DeepSeek

Same Characters, Different Readings

唉ài
alas, oh dear

Homophones

哎āi
hey
哀āi
sorrow, grief, pity, to grieve for
埃āi
dust, dirt, angstrom, phonetic ai or e

Your word lists

Sign in to add this word to your private lists.

Public Lists with 唉

HSK 5
All words for the HSK 5 test
Feelings & Emotions
Vocabulary for happiness, sadness, anger, fear, love, excitement, etc.
Common Communication Phrases
Polite expressions, apologies, congratulatory phrases, and casual chat.