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 Mencius (《孟子·公孫丑上》):

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.]

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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, 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

• 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

惻隱之心

1. feeling of compassion; heart of sympathy

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (惻隱之心):

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