📖 Meaning
Seeing others weep stirs up one's own sadness. It describes the natural emotional response of empathy and compassion triggered by witnessing someone else's grief. The idiom highlights how shared human feeling can connect people through sorrow.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom arises from the universal human experience of emotional contagion, where witnessing another person's tears naturally evokes sympathetic sadness. It reflects traditional Chinese and Buddhist philosophical values of compassion and empathy toward all beings. The phrase encapsulates the idea that sorrow is a shared emotion that can bridge the gap between individuals. No single literary source is definitively credited as its origin.
💡 Example Usage
她心地善良，常常见哭兴悲，对别人的不幸总是感同身受。
She is kind-hearted and often feels sadness upon seeing others cry, always empathizing deeply with others' misfortunes.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 见哭兴悲
- Pinyin: jiàn kū xīng bēi
- Literal Translation: see, crying, arouse, sorrow
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4