DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

嗚呼哀哉

简呜呼哀哉 · 繁嗚呼哀哉

Mandarin · pinyin wū hū āi zāi

alas
all is lost

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

嗚: Look up this written character
呼: hū · breathe sigh, exhale; call, shout
哀: āi · sad, mournful, pitiful; pity
哉: zāi · final exclamatory particle
呜: wū · sound of crying, sobbing

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–1–1–1 · wu1 hu1 ai1 zai1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

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.

嗚呼哀哉 · find source passages ↗ · 呜呼哀哉 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

intj

(archaic) alas; alack; wellaway

phrase

(euphemistic, sometimes humorous or ironic) to die; to pass away

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

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