Meaning of 可怜
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- pitiful
- pathetic
- to have pity on
How to use 可怜
As an adjective, 可怜 describes a person or animal that makes you feel sorry for them. As a verb, it means to take pity on someone. Example: 这只小狗真可怜。(Zhè zhī xiǎo gǒu zhēn kělián.) This little dog is really pitiful.
可 (kě) means "worthy of" and 怜 (lián) means "to pity," so 可怜 is something worthy of pity. It follows the same pattern as 可爱 (kě'ài), worthy of love, and 可怕 (kěpà), worthy of fear.
Common mistake: Learners often write 怜 with the wrong right side, such as 今 instead of 令 (lìng). Some also use 可怜 as a direct match for English "poor," as in poor in money, but that meaning is 穷 (qióng).
可怜 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
可 kě · can · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
怜 lián · to pity · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 可怜.
| 可以 | kěyǐ | can; may |
| 可能 | kěnéng | might (happen); possible |
| 可是 | kěshì | but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed |
| 可爱 | kě'ài | adorable; cute |
| 可怕 | kěpà | awful; dreadful |
| 可靠 | kěkào | reliable |
| 可乐 | kělè | amusing; entertaining |
| 认可 | rènkě | to approve; approval |
| 可见 | kějiàn | it can clearly be seen (that this is the case); it is (thus) clear |
| 可惜 | kěxī | it is a pity; what a pity |
| 尽可能 | jìn kěnéng | as far as possible; to the best of one's ability |
| 许可 | xǔkě | to allow; to permit |
Questions about 可怜
What does 可怜 mean?
可怜 (kělián) means "pitiful; pathetic" and is used as a adjective and verb.
How do you write 可怜?
可怜 is made of 2 characters: 可 (5 strokes), 怜 (8 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 可怜 an HSK word?
Yes. 可怜 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 可怜 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 可怜 is written 可憐.
Can 可怜 be used as an insult, like "pathetic" in English?
Yes. In some contexts it is contemptuous, as in 可怜的家伙 (kělián de jiāhuo), a pathetic guy. Tone and context tell you if it means sympathy or scorn.
How do I say "take pity on me" with 可怜?
You can say 可怜可怜我吧 (kělián kělián wǒ ba). Repeating the verb softens the request and makes it sound like pleading.