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艾

Mandarin · pinyin ài#

Chinese mugwort (Artemisia); moxa
used in transliteration

Mandarin · pinyin yì#

variant of 刈 yì
variant of 乂 yì

Mandarin · pinyin Ài#

surname Ai

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艾: ài · artemisia, mugwort

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4 · ai4

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1character link31same-tone records

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 16 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ngaai6

Cantonese word readings for 艾. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

mugwort, especially Chinese mugwort (Artemisia argyi), whose leaves are used to make moxa
(obsolete) green
(literary) pale; greyish white
(literary) elderly person
(literary) to end; to stop
(literary) beautiful lady
(obsolete) to nurture; to foster
(historical) an ancient place in modern-day Xiushui County, Jiangxi
(historical) a mountain in modern-day Xintai, Shandong
Used in transcription.
a surname

character · Etymology 2

used in 艾滋病 (àizībìng, “AIDS”)
(Internet slang) short for 艾滋病 (Àizībìng, “AIDS”)

character · Etymology 3

(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 刈 (yì, “to mow; to harvest; to chop; to exterminate; sickle”)
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 乂 (“to govern; to control; to pacify; to admonish”)

character · Etymology 4

(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to punish

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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