惋惜

• Pinyin: wǎn xī
• Hanzi breakdown: 惋 = 忄(heart) + 宛 (meandering, phonetic); 惜 = 忄(heart) + 昔 (past times)

Meaning

To feel regret; to feel pity for a loss or missed opportunity. A sense of sorrow over something unfortunate that happened.

Describes the feeling of regret or pity felt on behalf of someone else, or over an unfortunate turn of events. Often directed outward — feeling sorry that something good was lost or that a talented person met a bad fate. Closer to 'what a shame' than personal guilt. Used in both formal writing and everyday speech.

Examples

1. 大家都对他英年早逝感到无比惋惜。 Everyone felt immense regret at his passing at such a young age.
2. 这幅画在战火中被毁，令无数艺术爱好者深感惋惜。 The painting was destroyed in the war, leaving countless art lovers deeply saddened.
3. 她资质极高，却因家庭原因放弃了深造的机会，令人惋惜。 She had extraordinary talent but gave up the chance to pursue further study for family reasons — a real shame.

Usage Guide

Context: eulogy, loss, everyday

Tone: sympathetic

Do Say

• 他的离去让所有认识他的人都深感惋惜。(His passing left all who knew him filled with deep sorrow and regret.)
• 真是令人惋惜，这么好的机会就这样错过了。(It's truly a pity — such a good opportunity was missed just like that.)

Don't Say

• 用惋惜表达对自己过失的后悔，如'我惋惜自己迟到了' — use 后悔 for personal guilt; 惋惜 is sorrow over external loss, not self-blame

Origin & History

Compound of 惋 (to sigh with regret) and 惜 (to feel sorry for, to cherish). Together: to sigh over something lost or regrettable.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal