also: あったら
alas; regrettably; tragically
Literary or old-fashioned expression of regret, similar to 'alas' or 'what a pity'. Not used in everyday conversation.
Alas, he lost his young life.
Regrettably, the masterpiece was lost in the war.
valuing one's body and life; holding one's life dear
Usually written in kana. The kanji forms 可惜 and 惜 are rare and archaic.
Archaic or dialectal variant reading; rarely used in modern standard Japanese.
Rare kanji spelling; the reading あたら is not obvious from the kanji.
Rare single-character spelling; easily confused with other readings.
Derived from the adjective 可惜し (あたらし), an old form meaning 'precious' or 'regrettable to lose'. The adverbial form あたら came to be used as an interjection of regret.