恻隐之心

Pronunciation: cè yǐn zhī xīn Literal meaning: A heart that aches for others

Origin & Usage

Mencius asks what anybody would feel on suddenly seeing a child about to fall into a well, and answers that the alarm and the pity would arrive before any calculation about the parents, the neighbours or one's own reputation. That involuntary pang is the 恻隐之心 — the heart (心) that aches (恻) and is pained (隐) for another — and he takes its universality as his evidence that human nature is good. The phrase is doing philosophical work, not merely naming a feeling, and it gets used of the compassion that moves before judgement does.

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。