Definitions

āi (noun) dust; dirt
Āi (proper noun) Egypt (abbr.)

Etymology phono-semantic

earth

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

Composed of the earth radical "土" and the phonetic component "矣", the character "埃" originally denoted dust or fine particulate matter from the ground, a meaning directly informed by its semantic element. While this primary sense has endured, the character has also been appropriated for specialized uses, such as representing the angstrom unit in scientific contexts through phonetic borrowing, and it functions similarly in the transliteration of proper names like Egypt. Its structural integrity has been maintained throughout its history, with the left-right arrangement of components consistently underscoring its connection to earthly substance.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

及是一个国家。

Āijí shì yīgè guójiā.

Egypt is a country.

我喜欢及文化。

Wǒ xǐhuān Āijí wénhuà.

I like Egyptian culture.

及有古老的金字塔。

Āijí yǒu gǔlǎo de jīnzìtǎ.

Egypt has ancient pyramids.

房间里充满尘

Fángjiān lǐ chōngmǎn chén'āi.

The room is full of dust.

汽车驶过扬起一片尘

Qìchē shǐ guò yáng qǐ yī piàn chén'āi.

The car drove by and raised a cloud of dust.

菲尔铁塔在巴黎。

Āifēi'ěr tiětǎ zài Bālí.

The Eiffel Tower is in Paris.

博拉病毒很危险。

Āibólā bìngdú hěn wēixiǎn.

The Ebola virus is very dangerous.

微观世界中的尘也是物质。

Wēiguān shìjiè zhōng de chén'āi yě shì wùzhì.

Dust in the microscopic world is also matter.