噯 (āi) - Ai — an interjection expressing surprise, regret, annoyance, & also used to express affection or endearment.

噯Tone 1

āi ｜ 16 strokes ｜ radical:

安

噯 · āi

Ai — an interjection expressing surprise, regret, annoyance, or disagreement;

also used to express affection or endearment.

Ai — an interjection expressing surprise, regret, annoyance,also used to express affection or endearment.

Usage highlights

SighExpression of regretOh dearHey nowAlasExpression of disagreement

Synonyms

  • 哎— similar interjection expressing surprise or calling attention
  • 唉— interjection expressing regret or disappointment

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • He sighed with regret (他噯了一聲).
  • Don't be like that, dear (別這樣嘛，噯).
  • Oh no, I forgot my keys (噯呀，我忘了帶鑰匙).
  • That's not right, you know (噯，不對吧).

Collocations

  • Sigh(噯氣)
  • Expression of regret(噯聲嘆氣)
  • Oh dear(噯呀)
  • Hey now(噯，你)
  • Alas(噯喲)
  • Expression of disagreement(噯，不是)

Idioms

  • Sighing and lamenting(噯聲嘆氣)
  • Oh dear, what a pity(噯呀可惜)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Used as an interjection in spoken Chinese to express various emotions including surprise, regret, or affection.
  • The character contains the mouth radical 口, indicating it is a sound made with the mouth.
  • Can convey different emotional tones depending on context and pronunciation.

FAQ