悲 bēi — sad; sadness; sorrow; grief
这部电影的结局有点儿悲伤。Zhè bù diàn yǐng de jié jú yǒu diǎnr bēi shāng.The ending of this movie is a bit sad.
Common words: 悲剧 (bēi jù)、悲伤 (bēi shāng)、悲观 (bēi guān)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "grief"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "grief", including 悲 (bēi), 哀 (āi), 戚 (qī). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "grief" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 悲 (bēi), 哀 (āi), 戚 (qī) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span bēi, āi, qī — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 悲 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 悲 bēisad; sadness; sorrow; griefUseful words: 悲剧, 悲伤
- 哀 āisorrow; grief; pity; to grieve for; to pity; to lamentUseful words: 悲哀, 哀求
- 戚 qīashamed; grief; (surname); relativeUseful words: 亲戚, 外戚
Common words for these 3 "grief" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 悲 (bēi) — so "grief" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
悲剧bēi jùtragedy悲伤bēi shāngsad; sorrowful悲观bēi guānpessimistic悲哀bēi āigrieved; sorrowful哀求āi qiúto entreat; to implore; to plead喜怒哀乐xǐ nù āi lèlit. happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy (idiom); fig. emotions亲戚qīn qia relative (i.e. family relation)外戚wài qī(historical) consort kin戚族qī zúfamily members; fellow clansman
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "grief".
哀 āi — sorrow; grief; pity; to grieve for; to pity; to lament
听到这个不幸的消息，大家都很悲哀。Tīng dào zhè ge bú xìng de xiāo xi, dà jiā dōu hěn bēi āi.Hearing this unfortunate news, everyone was very sad.
Common words: 悲哀 (bēi āi)、哀求 (āi qiú)、喜怒哀乐 (xǐ nù āi lè)
戚 qī — ashamed; grief; (surname); relative
过年的时候，亲戚们常常聚在一起。Guò nián de shí hou, qīn qi men cháng cháng jù zài yì qǐ.During the New Year, relatives often gather together.
Common words: 亲戚 (qīn qi)、外戚 (wài qī)、戚族 (qī zú)
All 3 characters
Open 悲、哀、戚 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.