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Kanji Detail for 哀 - "pitiful, sad"

哀

  • Meaning

    哀 means "pitiful, sad." Also associated with mourning.

    1. Pitiful - To pity; to feel sorry for.

    2. Sad - To grieve; a painful feeling in the heart.

    3. Mourning - Bereavement; especially mourning for parents.

  • Words using 哀

    • 哀悼 あいとう Listen condolence; regret; tribute
    • 悲哀 ひあい Listen sorrow; grief; sadness
    • 可哀想 かわいそう Listen poor; pitiable; pathetic
    • 哀愁 あいしゅう Listen pathos; sorrow; grief
    • 哀れ あわれ Listen pity; sorrow; grief
    • 哀れむ あわれむ Listen to pity; to feel sympathy for; to sympathize with

  • Four-character idioms with 哀

    • 喜怒哀楽 きどあいらく Listen human emotions (joy, anger, grief and pleasure); feelings
    • 哀毀骨立 あいきこつりつ Listen losing weight and becoming bony because of grief

  • Tattoo check: 哀

    • Verified meaning: pitiful, sad
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read あい)
    • Also carries these associations: mourning

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 哀

    Given names 哀(あい)Listen

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    pathetic; grief; sorrow; pathos; pity; sympathize

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    sad, mournful, pitiful; pity

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    Ai (c. 2000 BC), sixth of legendary Flame Emperors 炎帝[Yan2 di4] descended from Shennong 神農|神农[Shen2 nong2] Farmer God, also known as Li 釐|厘[Li2]

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    sad, mournful, pitiful; to pity; to grieve

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    Grief; sorrow. | One without a mother is called 哀. One whose father is alive but mourning their mother is called 哀子.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    ai(アイ) アイ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    awa.re(あわ-れ) あわ-れ

    awa.remu(あわ-れむ) あわ-れむ

    kana.shii(かな-しい) かな-しい

  • Strokes

    tip

    9 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    口 (kuchi・kuchihen)

  • Related Keywords

    pitiful sad mourning compassion sorrow grief lamentation anguish condolence dejection distress empathy melancholy misery mournful pity regret sympathy

Sentences including 哀

  • They lamented the death of their father.

  • How my poor heart aches !

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 口 (kuchi・kuchihen)

See all kanji with this radical →

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