悲

bēi
adjective #13,912

Meanings

  1. 1 sad
  2. 2 sorrow
  3. 3 grief

Examples

HSK 4
Zhè shì yíge bēijù.
This is a tragedy.
HSK 5
Tā hěn bēishāng.
He is very sad.

Tips

memory
非 (not) + 心 (heart) - the heart says 'no more.'
usage
Common in 悲伤 (grief) and 悲剧 (tragedy).

Components

radical
心 xīn
heart; mind
Bottom 心 - full heart radical, picturing the organ with its aortic arch and atria. Indexing radical for 悲; sadness, grief and sorrow are all matters of the heart in classical Chinese psychology. Anchors 悲 in the deep-emotion family alongside 思 to think, 感 to feel, 念 to miss.
phonetic
非 fēi
wrong; not
Top 非 - two opposed wings spread apart, meaning 'not, contrary.' Supplies the sound fēi → bēi through an f/b alternation common in classical phonology. A faint semantic flavour leaks in: sadness is felt when things have gone contrary, when reality stands against the heart's wish.

Stroke Order

悲 bēi