惻隱之心

Chinese

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

Etymology

From the book Mengzi; see the quotes below.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): cèyǐnzhīxīn

  (Zhuyin): ㄘㄜˋ ㄧㄣˇ ㄓ ㄒㄧㄣ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): cak¹ jan² zi¹ sam¹ / caak¹ jan² zi¹ sam¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: cèyǐnzhīxīn
    • Zhuyin: ㄘㄜˋ ㄧㄣˇ ㄓ ㄒㄧㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cèyǐnjhihsin
    • Wade–Giles: tsʻê⁴-yin³-chih¹-hsin¹
    • Yale: tsè-yǐn-jr̄-syīn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tsehyiinjyshin
    • Palladius: цэиньчжисинь (cɛinʹčžisinʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɤ⁵¹ in²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ ɕin⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: cak¹ jan² zi¹ sam¹ / caak¹ jan² zi¹ sam¹
    • Yale: chāk yán jī sām / chāak yán jī sām
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsak⁷ jan² dzi¹ sam¹ / tsaak⁷ jan² dzi¹ sam¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ceg¹ yen² ji¹ sem¹ / cag¹ yen² ji¹ sem¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɐk̚⁵ jɐn³⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵/, /t͡sʰaːk̚⁵ jɐn³⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵/

Idiom

(deprecated template usage) 惻隱之心

1. feeling of compassion; heart of sympathy

   • 所以謂人皆有不忍人之心者，今人乍見孺子將入於井，皆有怵惕惻隱之心。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     所以谓人皆有不忍人之心者，今人乍见孺子将入于井，皆有怵惕恻隐之心。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     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.

   • 惻隱之心，仁之端也；羞惡之心，義之端也；辭讓之心，禮之端也；是非之心，智之端也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     恻隐之心，仁之端也；羞恶之心，义之端也；辞让之心，礼之端也；是非之心，智之端也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Cèyǐn zhī xīn, rén zhī duān yě; xiū'è zhī xīn, yì zhī duān yě; círàng zhī xīn, lǐ zhī duān yě; shìfēi zhī xīn, zhì zhī duān yě. [Pinyin]

     The feeling of commiseration is the principle of benevolence. The feeling of shame and dislike is the principle of righteousness. The feeling of modesty and complaisance is the principle of propriety. The feeling of approving and disapproving is the principle of knowledge.

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (惻隱之心):

• → Korean: 측은지심(惻隱之心) (cheugeunjisim)