嘤 (yīng): (onomatopoeia) the chirp of a b…

Meanings

1 (onomatopoeia) the chirp of a bird; a soft, quavering cry
2 (internet slang) a whimper or pitiful little sob, used to feign cuteness

Characters

嘤

yīng

(onom.) chirp; whimper

Examples

林中传来鸟儿嘤嘤的叫声。

Lín zhōng chuán lái niǎor yīngyīng de jiàoshēng.

The chirping of birds came from the forest.

嘤嘤嘤，你怎么不理我？

Yīng yīng yīng, nǐ zěnme bù lǐ wǒ?

Whimper whimper whimper, why are you ignoring me?

Tips

register

Classical Chinese poetry used 嘤嘤 for birdsong (《诗经·小雅·伐木》: '伐木丁丁，鸟鸣嘤嘤' — 'chop chop go axes, chirp chirp go birds'). Modern Chinese internet culture revived 嘤嘤嘤 as a cutesy fake-crying noise, especially among young women and in anime fan communities — equivalent to English 'sniffle sniffle' or 'wahh'.

memory

口 (mouth) plus 婴 (yīng, baby) — the sound a baby (or a baby bird) makes from its mouth. The phonetic 婴 also gives you the pronunciation.