哀 愁(あいしゅう)

あいしゅう

noun

sorrow, pathos

literary

1. sorrow, pathos, melancholy

A feeling of sadness or longing; melancholic beauty.

哀愁(あいしゅう)を帯(お)びたメロディー。

A melody tinged with melancholy.

彼(かれ)の目(め)には哀愁(あいしゅう)が漂(ただよ)っていた。

There was a sense of sorrow in his eyes.

哀愁(あいしゅう)に満(み)ちた風景(ふうけい)。

A landscape filled with melancholy.

哀愁(あいしゅう) is a literary word for melancholy or pathos, combining 哀(あい) (sorrow) and 愁(しゅう) (melancholy).

Usage

Describes aesthetic or wistful sadness rather than personal grief. Common in artistic contexts - music, literature, and atmosphere.

Common patterns

哀愁(あいしゅう)を帯(お)びた: tinged with melancholy
哀愁(あいしゅう)が漂(ただよ)う: melancholy lingers/drifts
哀愁(あいしゅう)に満(み)ちた: filled with pathos
哀愁(あいしゅう)を感(かん)じる: to feel melancholy

Similar words

悲(かな)しみ: sadness (general)
憂鬱(ゆううつ): depression, gloom
物悲(がな)しい: plaintive, sad (adjective)
センチメンタル: sentimental (loanword)

哀愁(あいしゅう) has a poetic, bittersweet quality that the others may lack.

Related Words

Synonym: 悲(かな)しみ (sadness (general))

Synonym: 憂鬱(ゆううつ) (depression, gloom)

Compare: 物悲(ものがな)しい (plaintive, sad)

Related: 感傷(かんしょう) (sentimentality)

Related: 寂寥(せきりょう) (desolation)

Compare: 情感(じょうかん) (emotion, sentiment, pathos)

Compare: 寂寥感(せきりょうかん) (sense of desolation)

Compare: 悲哀(ひあい) (sorrow)

general

Added 2026.1.16 8:57 · Revised 2026.9.2 12:02

04500/04838_aishuu