诶 meaning and stroke order
Oh, hey; surprise (tone 2), disagreement (tone 3), agreement (tone 4)
How to write 诶, stroke by stroke
9 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
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- 9
Meaning of 诶
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- sigh (to express regret)
- variant of 欸[ei1]
- variant of 欸[ei2]
- variant of 欸[ei3]
How 诶 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. To verbally 讠 confirm 矣 ; 矣 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 讠 (words), shared by 144 characters on this site.
How to remember 诶
The speech radical 讠 on the left shows this is a spoken sound, and 矣 (yǐ) on the right is an old particle that ends a confirming statement. Picture someone saying 'ei' out loud to react to what they just heard, with 矣 also hinting at the sound.
诶 is an interjection used at the start of a sentence, and its tone changes its meaning. Rising éi shows surprise, falling-rising ěi shows disagreement, and falling èi shows agreement or a reply. Example: 诶，你怎么来了？ (Éi, nǐ zěnme lái le?) Huh, how come you are here?
Common mistake: Learners often read 诶 in one fixed tone, but the tone carries the attitude: éi is surprise, ěi is 'no, that's not right', and èi is 'yes, okay'. Also do not confuse the right side 矣 (yǐ) with 唉 (āi), which uses the mouth radical 口 and is a sigh.
诶 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 诶
How many strokes are in 诶?
诶 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 诶 mean?
诶 (éi) means oh, hey; surprise (tone 2), disagreement (tone 3), agreement (tone 4).
How do you pronounce 诶?
诶 is pronounced éi, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 诶?
The radical of 诶 is 讠, which carries the idea of "words". Dictionaries list 诶 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 诶?
The traditional form of 诶 is 誒. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 诶 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 诶 and 欸?
In the dictionary data, 诶 is listed as a variant of 欸 for the ēi, éi and ěi readings. Both write the same interjection, and 诶 is the form you will see more often in everyday online and casual writing.
How do I say 'hey' to get someone's attention with 诶?
Use the first tone ēi, a flat 'hey' to call someone, as in 诶，等一下 (ēi, děng yíxià), hey, wait a moment. It sounds casual, so use it with friends rather than in formal situations.