怜香惜玉 — “Pity fragrance, cherish jade”
怜香惜玉 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to have tender affection for and show great care and consideration towards women, typically referring to a man's gentleness and protectiveness towards the fairer sex”. Literally, “Pity fragrance, cherish jade”.
怜香惜玉 Pronunciation and Pinyin
怜香惜玉 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 怜香惜玉
Origin and Story of 怜香惜玉
During the Yuan Dynasty, the singing girl Shun Shixiu was exceptionally intelligent and talented in both beauty and art. Hanlin academician Wang Yuanding was deeply fond of her.
Aluwen, an Assistant Minister of the Central Secretariat, also wanted to get involved. He took the opportunity to flirt with her, asking about the difference between him and Wang Yuanding.
Shun Shixiu replied, 'You are a prime minister, governing the country and assisting the emperor; in this, he is not as good as you. However, when it comes to 'pitying the jade and cherishing the fragrant' (怜香惜玉), you are not as good as Academician Wang.'
Idioms Related to 怜香惜玉
Synonyms of 怜香惜玉
Antonyms of 怜香惜玉
More idioms starting with 怜
- lián怜gū孤xī惜guǎ寡pity and care for orphans and widows
- lián怜wǒ我lián怜qīng卿to love and cherish each other deeply
- lián怜xīn新yàn厌jiù旧favor the new and neglect the old
- lián怜xīn新qì弃jiù旧dote on new, abandon old
- lián怜pín贫xù恤lǎo老pity the poor and care for the old
- lián怜pín贫xù恤kǔ苦pity the poor and relieve the suffering
- lián怜pín贫xī惜lǎo老pity the poor and cherish the old
- lián怜pín贫jìng敬lǎo老pity the poor and respect the old
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Open the tool →Questions about 怜香惜玉
What does 怜香惜玉 mean?
怜香惜玉 (lián xiāng xī yù) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to have tender affection for and show great care and consideration towards women, typically referring to a man's gentleness and protectiveness towards the fairer sex”.
How do you pronounce 怜香惜玉?
怜香惜玉 is pronounced lián xiāng xī yù in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 怜香惜玉 literally mean?
Literally, 怜香惜玉 means “Pity fragrance, cherish jade”. It is used to mean “to have tender affection for and show great care and consideration towards women, typically referring to a man's gentleness and protectiveness towards the fairer sex”.
Where does 怜香惜玉 come from?
怜香惜玉 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 怜香惜玉?
惜、怜：爱怜；玉、香：比喻女子。比喻男子对所爱女子的照顾体贴。