悲天悯人

悲天憫人
bēitiānmǐnrén
idiom #35,306

Meanings

  1. 1 to lament the state of the world and grieve for the suffering of mankind; to be filled with deep compassion for human suffering

Examples

Tā xiě de shī chángcháng liúlù chū bēitiān mǐnrén de qínghuái.
His poems often reveal a sense of compassion for the world's suffering.
Yīshēng zhè fèn gōngzuò xūyào yì kē bēitiān mǐnrén de xīn.
Being a doctor requires a heart that feels for the suffering of others.

Tips

history
From Tang dynasty essayist Han Yu 韩愈's 《》 (On the Remonstrance Official): 贤者不知天命 — those sages 'feared Heaven's mandate and grieved for human poverty'. The chengyu compresses that posture into four characters.
register
Literary and high-toned. Use sincerely for genuine compassion (writers, doctors, activists); used sarcastically it accuses someone of performative pity.

Stroke Order

bēi
tiān
mǐn
rén