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节哀

節哀
jié'āi
verb #8,694

Meanings

  1. 1 to restrain one's grief; to accept condolences
  2. 2 my condolences (short for 节哀顺变)

Characters

节
jié
to restrain; to moderate; festival
哀
āi
grief; sorrow; mourning
Restrain + grief - moderate your sorrow, a way of offering condolences.

Examples

HSK 3
听到这个消息，我只能说节哀。
Tīngdào zhège xiāoxi, wǒ zhǐ néng shuō jié'āi.
Hearing this news, all I can say is my condolences.
HSK 6
请节哀顺变。
Qǐng jié'āi-shùnbiàn.
Please accept my condolences and take care of yourself.
HSK 7-9
节哀吧，人死不能复生。
Jié'āi ba, rén sǐ bùnéng fùshēng.
My condolences - the dead cannot come back to life.

Tips

culture
节哀 is the standard way to express condolences in Chinese. The full phrase is 节哀顺变 (restrain grief and adapt to the change). In casual online contexts, people sometimes just type 节哀 as a shorthand expression of sympathy.

Stroke Order

节 jié
哀 āi