哀

哀 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+6, 9 strokes, cangjie input 卜口竹女 (YRHV), four-corner 0073₂, composition ⿳亠口𧘇)

• KangXi: page 188, character 11
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3580
• Dae Jaweon: page 407, character 11
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 620, character 10
• Unihan data for U+54C0

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *qɯːl) : phonetic 衣 (OC *qɯl, *qɯls) + semantic 口 (“mouth”).

Probably sound-symbolic (Schuessler, 2007).

哀

1. to pity; to sympathize
2. to lament; to mourn

   哀悼  ―  āidào  ―  to lament; to mourn

   哀求  ―  āiqiú  ―  to beg; to implore

3. sad; mournful; pitiful; sorrowful

   哀痛  ―  āitòng  ―  sad; grieved

4. grief; sorrow

   節哀／节哀  ―  jié'āi  ―  to restrain one's grief

5. orphaned of one's mother due to her passing
6. a surname

Coblin (2021) proposes that it is a contraction of Common Neo-Hakka compound 阿姆 (*a¹ moi¹), where *moi¹ may have come from earlier *moi⁴, perhaps related to 母 (OC *mɯʔ, “mother”).

哀

1. (Hakka) mother

   爺哀／爷哀 [Sixian Hakka]  ―  yà-ôi [Pha̍k-fa-sṳ]  ―  father and mother; parents

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

1. pathetic
2. grief
3. sorrow

• Go-on: あい (ai, Jōyō); お (o)
• Kan-on: あい (ai, Jōyō)
• Kun: あわれ (aware, 哀れ, Jōyō); あわれむ (awaremu, 哀れむ, Jōyō); かなしい (kanashii, 哀しい); かなしむ (kanashimu, 哀しむ)

From Middle Chinese 哀 (MC ʔʌi).

哀(あい) • (ai) 

1. grief; sorrow; sadness; lamentation

   哀(あい)を思(おも)う ― ai o omou ― to feel grief; to grieve; to mourn; lament

2. pity; sympathy

• 悲(かな)しみ (kanashimi)
• 嘆(なげ)き (nageki)
• 憂(うれ)い (urei)

哀 • (ae) (hangeul 애, McCune–Reischauer ae)

1. grief, sorrow
2. sad

哀: Hán Nôm readings: ai

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