āiài

alas

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components
口 meaning component

  Meaning component

kǒu

  

mouth

mouth

矣 sound component

  Sound component

  

particle of completed action

Evolution

唉 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
唉 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

 

āi

alas, exclamation of surprise or pain; interjection or grunt of agreement or recognition (e.g. yes, it's me!); to sigh

 

ài

alas; oh dear

Most common words with 唉
Freq.
Word
Meaning

to sigh

唉唉

crying sound

唉声叹气

to heave deep sighs