Writing
可怜 (kělián) — how to say "pitiful" in Chinese
可怜
Pitiful, to pity
adjective · verb
Character composition
可
worthy of
怜
pity
Radicals / Keys
口
Mouth
#30 · kǒu · 3 strokes
心
Heart
#61 · xīn · 4 strokes
Collocations
觉得可怜
juéde kělián
feel pity
可怜的人
kělián de rén
pitiful person
Examples
那个孩子在雨天里没有伞，一个人走路回家，看起来真可怜。
That child was walking home alone in the rain without an umbrella, looking really pitiful.
这只小狗很可怜。
This puppy is very pitiful.
Frequently asked questions
Pitiful meaning in Chinese
"pitiful" in Chinese is 可怜 (kělián).
可怜 meaning in English
可怜 (kělián) means "Pitiful, to pity".
How is 可怜 pronounced?
It is pronounced kělián (written as kelian). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "pitiful" in Chinese characters?
It is written 可怜: 可 has 5 strokes, 怜 has 8 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 可怜?
可怜 belongs to the HSK 4 vocabulary list.
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