aiy—eeee.

n.  a soft, pitiful cry, “like a long sigh from the deepest darkest nightmare,” as described in the story “At Fortune’s Way” by Li Yongping.

Aiya.

(also aia.)  n.  an Indian governess.

<When I was a young boy, our family lived in India and I heard from our Aiya (a mother’s helper” who become like an aunt) many stories like these.  —Michael Gurian, The Wonder of Girls: Understanding the Hidden Nature of Our Daughters.>

aiya.

interj.  a Chinese chiding expression.

<I sensed the ghost of my grandmother in the room.  “Aiya!  What a stupid girl,” I could hear her saying.  “This is what happens when  you let them become Americans.”  I imagined other wispy-edged relatives, more frowning and head shaking.  —Amy Tan, “Family Ghosts Hoard Secrets that Bewitch the Living,” Writers on Writing, Volume II: More Collected Essays from The New York Times.>

interj.  a Chinese exclamation meaning “Aha!” as discussed in The Eternal Storyteller: Oral Literature in Modern China by Vibeke Børdahl.


interj.  a Chinese exclamation meaning “drat!”

<“Aiya!” said Farmer Wang in the front seat, slapping his forehead.  “We didn’t bring our shen fen zheng!”My heart sank.  It was too late to turn back to fetch their government-issued identification cards.  —Jan Wong, Red China Blues: My Long March From Mao to Now.>

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