How to Write 哎 (āi) — Meaning “hey; oh”

Imagine a mouth (口) opening to say "āi" — the right part 矣 looks like a person raising one hand to wave, as if calling out "Hey!" This visual of a mouth calling and a waving hand helps link the shape to the sound and meaning.

Write the left 口 first (three strokes: vertical, horizontal fold, bottom horizontal). Then write the right part 矣: start with the top 厶 (two strokes: left-falling and dot), then write 矢 (five strokes: short horizontal, horizontal, left-falling, right-falling, and a final long horizontal). Common mistakes include making the right side too big or misaligning the horizontal stroke in 矢.

哎 has the right component 矣, while 吁 has 于 (yú) and 吂 has 亡 (wáng). Visually, 哎 has more strokes on the right. In meaning, 哎 is an everyday exclamation for "hey" or "oh," 吁 (xū) means to sigh or to shush, and 吂 (máng) is a rare character meaning "unclear" or "confused."

哎 is an casual interjection used to call someone's attention (like saying "Hey!") or express sudden emotions like surprise, frustration, or pain. It often appears in phrases like 哎呀 (āiyā, "oh my") for mild shock or 哎哟 (āiyō, "ouch") for pain. It is very common in spoken Chinese but rarely used in formal writing.

Common words containing 哎 include: 哎呀 (āi yā) — oh my; oops; 哎哟 (āi yō) — ouch; oh; 哎 (āi) — hey; oh.