1.
pitiful; pitiable; poor (someone to feel sorry for)
Expresses compassionate pity for someone in an unfortunate situation, often through no fault of their own. Conveys tender sympathy rather than contempt.
不憫な子だ。
What a poor child.
親を亡くした子供を不憫に思う。
I feel sorry for the child who lost their parents.
祖母は不憫な孫のために毎日お弁当を作ってくれた。
My grandmother made a lunch box every day for her poor grandchild.
Expresses a feeling of pity or sympathy for someone who is in an unfortunate situation, often through no fault of their own. The emotion conveyed is one of compassionate sadness rather than contempt. Also written as 不便 in older texts, though 不憫 is the standard modern form.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 不憫に思う: to feel sorry for
- 不憫な子: a poor child
- 不憫でならない: cannot help feeling sorry
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 可哀想: pitiful, poor — the most common everyday word for expressing pity; less literary than 不憫
- 気の毒: unfortunate, pitiable — focuses on the situation being regrettable; also used as a polite apology
- 哀れ: pathos, pity — literary; conveys a deeper sense of sorrow