Chinese words starting with “ai”
24 words in our HSK vocabulary start with the syllable ai. They are sorted by how common they are, so the ones you are most likely to meet come first. The 4 most useful of them have their own page — they are listed first below.
Initial — · final ai · hear the four tones and see example characters →
- 1st tone 8
- 2nd tone 3
- 3rd tone 2
- 4th tone 11
Word counts by tone are counted on the first syllable of each word.
Common words with this syllable
- 爱情ài qíngHSK 2
romance; love (romantic)
- 爱人ài renHSK 2
spouse (PRC); lover (non-PRC)
- 爱好ài hàoHSK 1
to like; to be fond of; to take pleasure in; to be keen on; interest; hobby
- 爱心ài xīnHSK 3
compassion; kindness; care for others; love; charity (bazaar, golf day etc); heart (the symbol ♥)
All 24 words
| # | Word | Pinyin | POS | Meaning | Study list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 爱 | ài | v,vn,b | to love; to be fond of; to like; affection; to be inclined (to do sth); to tend to (happen) | |
| 2 | 哎 | āi | e | hey!; (interjection used to attract attention or to express surprise or disapprobation) | |
| 3 | 唉 | āi | e | interjection or grunt of agreement or recognition (e.g. yes, it's me!); to sigh | |
| 4 | 矮 | ǎi | a,v | low; short (in length) | |
| 5 | 癌症 | ái zhèng | n | cancer | |
| 6 | 哎呀 | āi yā | e | interjection of wonder, shock or admiration | |
| 7 | 挨 | āi | v | in order; in sequence; close to; adjacent to | |
| 8 | 癌 | ái | n | cancer; carcinoma; also pr. [yán] | |
| 9 | 艾滋病 | ài zī bìng | n | AIDS (loanword) | |
| 10 | 哎哟 | āi yō | e | hey; ow; ouch; interjection of pain or surprise | |
| 11 | 爱国 | ài guó | a | to love one's country; patriotic | |
| 12 | 爱护 | ài hù | v,vn | to cherish; to treasure; to take care of; to love and protect | |
| 13 | 挨着 | āi zhe | v | near | |
| 14 | 暧昧 | ài mèi | a | vague; ambiguous; equivocal; dubious | |
| 15 | 挨打 | ái dǎ | v | to take a beating; to get thrashed; to come under attack | |
| 16 | 爱戴 | ài dài | vn,v | to love and respect; love and respect | |
| 17 | 哀求 | āi qiú | v,vn | to entreat; to implore; to plead | |
| 18 | 爱惜 | ài xī | v | to cherish; to treasure; to use sparingly | |
| 19 | 矮小 | ǎi xiǎo | a | short and small; low and small; undersized | |
| 20 | 挨家挨户 | āi jiā āi hù | l | to go from house to house | |
| 21 | 爱不释手 | ài bù shì shǒu | v | (idiom) to like sth so much that one is reluctant to put it down; to find sth utterly irresistible | |
| 22 | 碍事 | ài shì | a | to be in the way; to be a hindrance; (usu. in the negative) to be of consequence; to matter | |
| 23 | 爱面子 | ài miàn zi | a | to like to look good in the eyes of others; sensitive about how one is regarded by others; proud | |
| 24 | 爱理不理 | ài lǐ bù lǐ | v | (idiom) standoffish; indifferent |
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