How to Write 唏 (xī) — Meaning “Sound of sighing or sobbing.”

Imagine someone saying 'Xī...' with a long, sad breath, like a sigh of disappointment. The left side 口 looks like an open mouth, and the right side 希 sounds like 'she' — picture a woman sighing, "She..." — and that sound is 唏. The common word 唏嘘 (xī xū) also sounds like the English interjection 'sigh sigh,' which can help you connect the character to the meaning.

Pay attention to the proportions: the left radical 口 should be small and high, not too wide, while the right side 希 is taller and balanced. The stroke order for 希 is: first dot top-left, then straight stroke down-left, then the cloth-like component (巾) below — make sure the vertical stroke of 巾 is centered. A common mistake is making the left 口 too big, which throws off the balance.

呢 (ne) is a modal particle used in questions or to indicate ongoing action, and its right side is 尼, not 希. 呣 (m̀ or móu) is an interjection expressing thinking or agreement, with a simple 毋 component. In contrast, 唏 always carries the sense of sighing or sobbing (like 唏嘘), and it is rarely used alone — it almost always appears in sound-related expressions, not as a grammar word.

唏 appears almost exclusively in the reduplicated word 唏嘘 (xī xū), meaning 'to sigh deeply' (often with sadness or regret). You might see it in literary descriptions or news headlines about tragic events, like '令人唏嘘' (lìng rén xī xū, 'making people sigh'). It is not used in everyday spoken Chinese, so learners should recognize it for reading rather than active use.

Common words containing 唏 include: 唏嘘 (xī xū) — To sigh or sob.; 唏哩 (xī lī) — Sound of rustling or rain..