āi
verb/preposition HSK 6 #5,027

Meanings

  1. 1 close to; next to; in sequence
  2. 2 to be near; to lean against

Examples

Tāmen āi gèr bàomíng.
They signed up one by one.
Liǎng gè cūnzi āi de hěn jìn.
The two villages are very close to each other.
Háizimen āi zhe zuò.
The children sit next to each other.
Āi jiā āi hù de tōngzhī.
Notify door to door, house by house.

Tips

usage
has TWO pronunciations: āi (close to, in sequence) and ái (to endure, to suffer — see 挨打). 挨家挨户 (āi jiā āi hù) = house by house, door to door. 挨个 (āi gèr) = one by one.
grammar
As āi: 挨着 (next to), 挨个 (one by one). As ái: 挨打 (take a beating), (get scolded), 挨饿 (go hungry).

Stroke Order

āi