悲 bēi — sorrow, sad · English

悲

bēi

sorrow, sad

At a glance · 悲

Listen

Audio is synthesized in your browser: Mandarin for the character and Shuowen text, native voices for every translation. No downloads.

Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

悲字小篆从心非声，为形声字；本义为悲哀、伤心。甲骨文未见。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

悲本义为悲伤、哀痛。

Structure

形声字，下部『心』为意符，上部『非』为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinbēi

Radical心

Strokes12

UnicodeU+60B2

Character type形声

Theme状态

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English sorrow, sad Bei is a phonetic-semantic character meaning sorrow and sad.

Français tristesse, triste Bei est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant tristesse et triste.

Español tristeza, triste Bei es un carácter fonosemántico que significa tristeza y triste.

العربية حزن، حزين بيه حرف صوتي دلالي يعني الحزن والحزين.

Русский печаль, грустный Бэй — фоносемантический знак, означающий печаль и грустный.

Common words

悲伤bēi shāngsad
悲观bēi guānpessimistic

◉ Listen