怜 (lián): to pity
怜 (lián) is a Chinese character meaning “to pity.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 忄 (semantic) and 令 (phonetic). It ranks #1588 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 怜 heart. Its radical form 忄 (heart) appears in many related characters such as 忙 (máng, busy), 快 (kuài, fast, happy), 怎 (zěn, how).
Definitions
- to pity
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 怜
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 怜悯 | lián mǐn | to take pity on |
| 可怜虫 | kě lián chóng | pitiful creature |
| 同病相怜 | tóng bìng xiāng lián | fellow sufferers empathize with each other (idiom) |
| 乞怜 | qǐ lián | to beg for pity |
| 可怜巴巴 | kě lián bā bā | pathetic |
| 怜惜 | lián xī | to take pity on |
| 怜爱 | lián ài | to have tender affection for |
| 爱怜 | ài lián | to show tenderness |
| 怜恤 | lián xù | to take pity |
| 哀怜 | āi lián | to feel compassion for |
| 由怜生爱 | yóu lián shēng ài | to develop love for sb out of pity for them |
| 可怜见 | kě lián jiàn | (coll.) pitiable |
| 顾影自怜 | gù yǐng zì lián | lit. looking at one's shadow and feeling sorry for oneself (idiom) |
| 自艾自怜 | zì yì zì lián | (idiom) to feel sorry for oneself |
| 楚楚可怜 | chǔ chǔ kě lián | (idiom) pitiable |
怜 appears in 22 compound words: 27 as the first character, 45 as the last, and 27 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 怜 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
lit. looking at one's shadow and feeling sorry for oneself (idiom); fig. alone and dejected
in the same boat; fellow sufferers sympathise with each other; misery loves company
lit. looking at one's shadow and feeling sorry for oneself (idiom); fig. alone and dejected
in the same boat; fellow sufferers sympathise with each other; misery loves company
Example Sentences
怜香惜玉，温柔体贴。
Lián xiāng xī yù, wēnróu tǐtiē.
Cherish and care for loved ones tenderly.
晚安小鸡满脸胡子遭酸装可怜 喊冤揭原因
wǎn ān xiǎo jī mǎn liǎn hú zǐ zāo suān zhuāng kě lián hǎn yuān jiē yuán yīn
Good Night, Little Chicken: Mocked for His Full Face of Beard, He Plays the Victim and Pleads Innocence, Revealing the Reason
可怜的人民任凭残暴的独裁者处置。
Kělián de rénmín rènpíng cánbào de dúcáizhě chǔzhì.
The poor people were at the mercy of the cruel dictator.
你为什么这么可怜？
Nǐ wèishénme zhème kělián?
Why are you so unfortunate?
可怜的猫！ 她无法抓住敏捷的老鼠。
Kělián de māo! Tā wúfǎ zhuāzhù mǐnjié de lǎoshǔ.
Poor cat! She can't catch the nimble mouse.
这里附近的电话亭少得可怜。
Zhèlǐ fùjìn de diànhuàtíng shǎo de kělián.
Telephone booths are as scarce as hen's teeth around here.
这可怜的女孩瞎了。
Zhè kělián de nǚhái xiā le.
The poor girl went blind.
那可怜的孩子快饿死了。
Nà kělián de háizi kuài èsǐ le.
The poor child was on the verge of starvation.
她照顾可怜的小鸟。
Tā zhàogu kělián de xiǎoniǎo.
She took care of the poor little bird.
我觉得她一点也不可怜。
Wǒ juéde tā yīdiǎn yě bù kělián.
I don't feel sorry for her.
Character Family
Homophones — Characters pronounced lián
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 怜 (lián) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 怜 and 铃?
How many strokes does 怜 have?
What is the radical of 怜?
What are the components of 怜?
What are common words containing 怜?
What characters sound the same as 怜 (lián)?
Is 怜 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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