恻隐之心

Pronunciation: cè yǐn zhī xīn Literal meaning: Heart of compassionate concealment

Origin & Usage

This idiom describes the heart (心) of compassion (恻隐). It comes from Mencius, who argued this feeling of pain at others' suffering is innate to all humans, proving human nature is fundamentally good. The phrase represents the instinctive sympathy that arises when witnessing others' distress. Modern usage describes natural compassion and empathy, the moral intuition that responds to suffering and motivates benevolent action.

Examples

English: "His innate sense of compassion moved him to help the stranger."

Chinese: 他的恻隐之心促使他帮助陌生人。