唉

ài

interjection HSK 7 #2,778

Meanings

1 sigh of sadness or regret
2 alas
3 (also āi) interjection of agreement

Characters

alas; hey (interjection of sigh or regret)

Examples

唉，时间过得真快啊。

Ài, shíjiān guò de zhēn kuài a.

Alas, time passes so quickly.

唉，我又考砸了。

Ài, wǒ yòu kǎo zá le.

Sigh, I failed the exam again.

Tips

usage

When pronounced ài (4th tone), 唉 expresses sadness or regret. When pronounced āi (1st tone), it's a casual 'yeah' or agreement sound.

mistakes

Don't confuse 唉 (ài, sigh) with 哎 (āi, hey!). 唉 is melancholy; 哎 gets attention.

Stroke Order

唉 ài