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欸乃

Mandarin · pinyin ǎi nǎi

(onom.) (literary) the creaking of a stern-mounted oar

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Characters in this entry

欸: ǎi · sigh; an exclamatory sound
乃: nǎi · then; really, indeed; as it turned out, after all; namely

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Mandarin tones

3–3 · ai3 nai3

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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.

noun

(literary, onomatopoeia) the sound of an oar sculling
(literary, onomatopoeia) the sound of a boatman singing while rowing a boat
(literary, onomatopoeia) the sound of melodious singing

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

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