Proverb / Kotowaza
哀矜懲創
To pity someone who has failed or committed a fault while also disciplining them to prevent a recurrence.
pity, mercy, chastisement, and wounding
Quick Answer
To pity someone who has failed or committed a fault while also disciplining them to prevent a recurrence.
- Literal Image
- pity, mercy, chastisement, and wounding
- How to Use It
- Used when discussing the treatment of defeated opponents or individuals who have made mistakes, emphasizing a balance between mercy and corrective discipline. It is also used when reflecting on a failure as a lesson for the future.
Meaning
This expression describes the dual act of showing compassion toward those who have suffered a defeat or mistake and simultaneously providing a lesson to ensure they do not repeat the error. It can also refer to observing someone else's failure, feeling sympathy for their plight, and taking it as a personal warning to avoid the same path.
Literal Image
pity, mercy, chastisement, and wounding
How to Use It
Used when discussing the treatment of defeated opponents or individuals who have made mistakes, emphasizing a balance between mercy and corrective discipline. It is also used when reflecting on a failure as a lesson for the future.
Tone
Formal and literary, can be used in historical or serious educational contexts.
Examples
彼は戦いに敗れた敵将に対し、哀矜懲創の念を持って接した。
He treated the defeated enemy general with a spirit of compassion and corrective discipline.
今回の失敗を哀矜懲創の教訓として、今後の糧にしていきたい。
I want to take this failure as a lesson of pity and self-discipline, using it as nourishment for my future growth.
Learning Notes
Key Vocabulary
This is a four-character idiom (yojijukugo) consisting of formal kanji not covered in standard JLPT levels.
哀
あい / ai
pity; sorrow
懲
ちょう / chou
chastise; discipline
教訓
きょうくん / kyoukun
lesson; moral
Usage Profile
Usage note: The term includes 'punishment' or 'wounding' imagery, so ensure the context involves a corrective lesson rather than just pure sympathy.
Misread Risk
Do not use this for simple sympathy; it requires the element of learning or disciplining to prevent a repeat of the failure.
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Origin
Derived from the Chinese classic 'Chunqiu Zuo Zhuan' (Zuo Zhuan). During a battle between the states of Jin and Chu in ancient China, a Jin general saw the miserable state of the defeated Chu soldiers. He remarked that while the King of Chu lacked virtue and caused his people to suffer, they should pity these remnants of the defeated army and use the situation as a warning to ensure such a tragedy never happens again.
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