The character 哎 — “hey”: how to write it and what it means
hey, oh (exclamation)
The Chinese character 哎 is read āi and means “hey, oh (exclamation)”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 哎
哎 has 8 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 哎, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 哎 is made of
On the left, 口 “mouth”; on the right, 艾 ài hints at the sound.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 哎
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 哎?
哎 has 8 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 哎 mean?
哎 means “hey, oh (exclamation)”. It appears in 哎呀 (“oh! ah!”).
How do you pronounce 哎?
哎 is read āi. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 哎 have?
8 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 哎 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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