How to Write 嗟 (jiē) — Meaning “To sigh or an exclamation like 'hey'.”

Imagine someone saying "Hey!" (jiē) with their mouth (口) because they see something wrong (差, meaning difference or mistake). The exclamation comes from noticing a flaw, so you can picture a person pointing at an error and sighing in surprise.

Write the left radical 口 first (three strokes), then the right part 差: start with 羊 (six strokes) but note it's written as 䒑 then 工, followed by 又. A common mistake is making the final 又 too wide; keep it compact so the whole character stays balanced.

嗟 means to sigh or exclaim, while 㕡 (pronounced hé or hè) is a rare character meaning a hole or to scoop, and 哥 (gē) means "older brother". Visually, 嗟 has 口 plus 差, 㕡 has 口 plus 霍, and 哥 is two 可 stacked, so they look quite different.

嗟 is mostly found in literary or classical Chinese, not in everyday conversation. It appears in set phrases like 嗟叹 (to sigh in regret) or 吁嗟 (alas), and is often used in poetry or historical texts to express sadness or sudden realization.

Common words containing 嗟 include: 嗟叹 (jiē tàn) — To sigh or lament.; 嗟 (jiē) — To sigh or an exclamation like 'hey'.; 吁嗟 (xū jiē) — alas; to sigh.