憫 meaning and stroke order
To pity, to sympathize with; to grieve for
How to write 憫, stroke by stroke
15 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 憫
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to sympathize; to pity; to feel compassion for
- (literary) to feel sorrow; to be grieved
How 憫 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Heart.
忄 gives the meaning and 閔 hints at the sound.
Radical: 忄 (heart), shared by 167 characters on this site.
How to remember 憫
The heart radical 忄 on the left shows this is a feeling, and 閔 (mǐn) on the right gives the sound. Picture a heart reaching out to someone, feeling their pain: that is pity.
憫 (mǐn) is a literary character and rarely appears alone in modern speech. You mostly meet it in set words like 憐憫 (simplified 怜悯, liánmǐn), 悲天憫人 (bēi tiān mǐn rén), and 憫惜 (mǐnxī). Example: 他對窮人充滿憐憫。(Tā duì qióngrén chōngmǎn liánmǐn.) He is full of pity for the poor.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 憫 with 悶 (mèn, stuffy, bored), since both have a heart and the 門 shape. In 憫 the heart sits on the left as 忄, while in 悶 the heart 心 sits inside the door. Also keep the third tone: mǐn, not mín.
Common words with 憫
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 憐憫 | liánmǐn | to take pity on; pity |
Questions about 憫
How many strokes are in 憫?
憫 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 憫 mean?
憫 (mǐn) means to pity, to sympathize with; to grieve for. A common word with it is 怜悯 (liánmǐn), meaning "to take pity on; pity".
How do you pronounce 憫?
憫 is pronounced mǐn, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 憫?
The radical of 憫 is 忄, which carries the idea of "heart". Dictionaries list 憫 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 憫?
憫 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 悯, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 憐憫 (liánmǐn) and 同情 (tóngqíng)?
同情 is the everyday word for sympathy and can feel equal or supportive. 憐憫 is more formal and suggests looking down with pity on someone who is suffering, so it can sound a bit condescending.
What does the idiom 悲天憫人 (bēi tiān mǐn rén) mean?
It means to grieve over the state of the world and feel compassion for its people. It describes someone with deep concern for human suffering, and it is sometimes used ironically for people who act overly sorrowful.