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惻隱之心

简恻隐之心 · 繁惻隱之心

Mandarin · pinyin cè yǐn zhī xīn

compassion

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Characters in this entry

惻: Look up this written character
隱: Look up this written character
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
心: xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
恻: cè · feel anguish, feel compassion
隐: yǐn · hide, conceal; hidden, secret

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–1–1 · ce4 yin3 zhi1 xin1

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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.

惻隱之心 · find source passages ↗ · 恻隐之心 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) feeling of compassion; heart of sympathy

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

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