可怜天下父母心

可憐天下父母心

kěliántiānxiàfùmǔxīn

phrase

Meanings

1 pity the hearts of parents everywhere
2 parents everywhere love their children (often said with sympathy for a parent's worry or sacrifice)

Characters

pity / sympathy

under / all under heaven

Examples

她为了孩子什么苦都能吃，可怜天下父母心。

Tā wèile háizi shénme kǔ dōu néng chī, kělián tiānxià fùmǔ xīn.

She'll endure anything for her children — pity the hearts of parents everywhere.

父母总是担心我们，真是可怜天下父母心。

Fùmǔ zǒngshì dānxīn wǒmen, zhēn shì kělián tiānxià fùmǔ xīn.

Parents always worry about us — truly, such is a parent's heart.

看到老人省吃俭用供孩子上学，可怜天下父母心。

Kàn dào lǎorén shěng chī jiǎn yòng gòng háizi shàngxué, kělián tiānxià fùmǔ xīn.

Seeing the old man scrimping to send his child to school — the love of parents everywhere.

Tips

culture

Attributed to a poem by Empress Dowager Cixi for her mother's 60th birthday. 可怜 here means 'pitiable / touching / deserving sympathy,' not 'pathetic.'

mistakes

可怜 does NOT mean 'pathetic' here. Think 'how touching' or 'how sympathetic' — a parent's love is often expressed as worry and sacrifice worth our compassion.

Stroke Order

可 kě

怜 lián

天 tiān

下 xià

父 fù

母 mǔ

心 xīn