Chinese

Verb

可憐

1. to have pity on; to pity

   我很可憐他。 / 我很可怜他。  ―  Wǒ hěn kělián tā.  ―  I feel sorry for him.

Adjective

可憐

1. pitiful; pitiable
2. meager; negligible (of a number or amount)

Derived terms

Japanese

Adjectival noun

可憐 ‎(-na inflection, hiragana かれん, romaji karen)

1. pretty, lovely
   • 1919, 板倉勝宣, 山と雪の日記:

     ここから見 (み)ると可憐 (かれん)な山 (やま)だ。

     Koko kara miru to karen na yama da.

     If you look over there you can see lovely mountains.

2. pitiful
   • 1932, 魯迅, 薬:

     「ところがあの馬 (うま)の骨 (ほね)め、打 (う)たれても平気 (へいき)で、可憐 (かれん)そうだ。

     “Tokoro ga ano uma no hone me, utarete mo heiki de, karen sō da.

     Still, it's awfully sad to see that bony horse that doesn't even care when it gets hit.

Inflection

Korean

Noun

可憐 • ‎(garyeon) ‎(hangeul 가련)

1. Hanja form^? of 가련, “pitiful”.