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惜

Mandarin · pinyin xī

to cherish
to begrudge
to pity
Taiwan pr. xí

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惜: xī · pity, regret, rue, begrudge

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

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Mandarin tones

1 · xi1

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1character link169same-tone records

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 5 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sek3 · sik1

Cantonese word readings for 惜. 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.

character

to have pity on; to regret; to feel sorry for
to cherish; to adore; to value greatly; to love dearly
to begrudge; to grudge; to spare; to stint
(Cantonese) to kiss
(Mainland China Hokkien) to take into consideration; to take into account; to give consideration to

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

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