The kanji 哉 generally conveys a sense of exclamation, admiration, or a questioning tone. It can express surprise, praise, or rhetorical inquiry. It often appears at the end of a sentence.

・On-yomi (音読み): サイ (sai) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): None, although it has the connotation of exclamation.

⚫︎嗚呼、哉！ Translation: Oh, how wonderful! ⚫︎善哉！ Translation: Bravo! Well done! (Literally: Good [哉]!) ⚫︎無念哉 Translation: Alas! What a pity!

The kanji 哉 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). The phonetic component is 才 (meaning "talent," "ability"), and the semantic component is 口 (mouth). The original meaning may have been related to the expression of sounds or feelings. It evolved to express exclamations, reflecting a person's emotions in speech.