DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

哀而不傷

简哀而不伤 · 繁哀而不傷

Mandarin · pinyin āi ér bù shāng

deeply felt but not mawkish (idiom)

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

哀: āi · sad, mournful, pitiful; pity
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
傷: shāng · wound, injury; fall ill from
伤: shāng · wound, injury; fall ill from

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–2–4–1 · ai1 er2 bu4 shang1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

哀而不傷 · find source passages ↗ · 哀而不伤 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

oi1 ji4 bat1 soeng1

Cantonese word readings for 哀而不傷. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) expressing grief without being hurtful

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

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