How to say “pitiful” in Chinese
pitiful, poor; pity
“Pitiful” in Chinese is 可怜, kě lián: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke.
How to pronounce it
可怜 is read kě lián: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 忄 “heart”; on the right, 令.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “可怜”.
More words from the lesson “Hurt and anger”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “pitiful” in Chinese?
“Pitiful” in Chinese is 可怜, pinyin kělián.
What does 可怜 mean?
可怜 (kělián) means “pitiful, poor; pity”.
How do you write 可怜?
可怜 is 2 characters: 可 (kě) — may, can; 怜 (lián) — pity. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 可怜?
可怜 is read kělián. Tones: kě — third tone, lián — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“pitiful” in the lesson “Hurt and anger”
This word is from the topic “Feelings” of HSK 6. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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