叹气
tàn qì · HSK 6
to sigh
😮💨 叹 sounds like TAN — you TAN in the sun then sigh (气 = air/breath)
叹 (tàn) carries the idea of exclaiming or lamenting, paired with 气 (qì, breath/air). A sigh is literally a lament-breath — you push out a long, heavy exhale when something weighs on you.
气 — steam/vapor radical 气
Originally a pictograph of rising vapor or clouds drifting in the sky, depicting curling streams of air. The character came to mean breath, air, and by extension vital energy or 'qi.' The simplified form 气 keeps the original outline; the traditional 氣 added 米 (rice) to suggest steam rising from cooking grain.