DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

哀

Mandarin · pinyin āi#

(bound form) sorrow; grief; pity
(bound form) to grieve for; to pity; to lament; to condole

Mandarin · pinyin Āi#

Ai (c. 2000 BC), sixth of legendary Flame Emperors 炎帝 Yán dì descended from Shennong 神農 Shén nóng Farmer God, also known as Li 釐 Lí

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

哀: āi · sad, mournful, pitiful; pity

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1 · ai1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link16same-tone records

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

哀 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

oi1

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

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

character · Etymology 1

to pity; to sympathize
to lament; to mourn
sad; mournful; pitiful; sorrowful
grief; sorrow
orphaned of one's mother due to her passing
a surname
(Suzhounese) this; these

character · Etymology 2

(Hakka) mother

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack