哀傷 / 哀伤
āishāng
In Mandarin, 'sad' can be expressed as 哀傷 / 哀伤 (āishāng). If unsure, use 哀傷 / 哀伤. Wiktionary also lists 悲傷 / 悲伤 (bēishāng) and 憂傷 / 忧伤 (yōushāng).
Meaning: feeling sorrow (adj)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 哀傷 / 哀伤 | āishāng |
| 悲傷 / 悲伤 | bēishāng |
| 憂傷 / 忧伤 | yōushāng |
The forms 哀傷 / 哀伤, 悲傷 / 悲伤 and 憂傷 / 忧伤 are literary or formal terms for 'sad' and are less common in daily spoken conversation than the common adjective 難過 (nánguò). For a more intense or uncontrolled sadness, one might use the idiom 泪如雨下, which means 'tears are flowing like rain'.
What does it mean word for word?
In the word 哀傷 / 哀伤, the character 哀 (āi) means sorrow or grief. In the word 悲傷 / 悲伤, the character 悲 (bēi) means sad or miserable.
Which one should you use?
While all these terms relate to sadness, 憂傷 / 忧伤 often carries a connotation of melancholy or a lingering, wistful sadness rather than acute grief.
How do you pronounce it?
āishāng
Did you know?
- While English speakers use 'blue' to describe sadness, Mandarin uses 'heart' 心 (xīn) as the root for most emotional pain. A common way to express being sad is to say the heart is 'broken' or 'suffering'.
- The character 难 (nán) in the common term 难过 (nánguò) literally means 'difficult', so the phrase translates word for word as 'difficult to pass' or 'difficult to go through'.
- In some contexts, 悲傷 (bēishāng) is used in the specific Buddhist term 悲心 (bēixīn), which refers to a 'compassionate heart' that feels the suffering of others.
Examples in context
- 她听到这个坏消息后，感到非常悲伤。She felt very sad after hearing this bad news.
- 众人为他的离去感到十分悲哀。Everyone felt deeply saddened by his departure.
- 今天的天气太差了，我感到有些郁闷。The weather today is terrible, and I feel a bit sad/frustrated.
- 他看着窗外的雨滴，感受着深深的忧伤。He watched the raindrops outside the window, feeling a profound sadness.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sad” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
