惻隱之心

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Chinese

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to be sympathetic; to be empathetic; to feel compassion 's; him/her/it; this heart; mind
trad. (惻隱之心) 惻隱
simp. (恻隐之心) 恻隐

Etymology

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From Mencius (《孟子·公孫丑上》):

所以孺子怵惕惻隱之心 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
所以孺子怵惕恻隐之心 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Mencius, c. 4th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
Suǒyǐ wèi rén jiē yǒu bù rěn rén zhī xīn zhě, jīn rén zhà jiàn rúzǐ jiāng rù yú jǐng, jiē yǒu chùtì cèyǐn zhī xīn. [Pinyin]
When I say that all men have a mind which cannot bear to see the sufferings of others, my meaning may be illustrated thus: even now-a-days, if men suddenly see a child about to fall into a well, they will without exception experience a feeling of alarm and distress.

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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惻隱之心

  1. feeling of compassion; heart of sympathy

Descendants

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Sino-Xenic (惻隱之心):
  • Korean: 측은지심(惻隱之心) (cheugeunjisim)