sorrow

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 悲 has 12 strokes, the on-reading ひ, and the kun-readings かなしい and かなしむ. 悲しい (かなしい) is an adjective expressing sadness.
• Basic usage: 悲しい describes the sadness caused by something such as parting or news; 悲劇 (ひげき) can describe a tragic event.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Sadness and a tragic event
  • 犬との別れは悲しい means that parting with a pet dog is sad. 悲しい知らせ refers to the sad news that left someone unable to speak for a while.
  • 家族を引き裂く悲劇 means a tragedy that tears a family apart. 同じ悲劇を繰り返さないため means in order not to repeat the same tragedy.