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可憐

简可怜 · 繁可憐

Mandarin · pinyin kě lián

pitiful
pathetic
to have pity on

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Characters in this entry

可: kě · may, can, -able; possibly
憐: Look up this written character
怜: lián · pity, sympathize

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–2 · ke3 lian2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

可憐 · find source passages ↗ · 可怜 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ho2 lin4

Cantonese word readings for 可憐. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to have pity on; to pity

adj

pitiful; pitiable; poor
meager; negligible (of a number or amount)
(literary) lovely

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack