かわいそう

か

わ

い

そ

う

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

usually written using kana alone

Expresses sympathy or pity toward someone or something in a sad or unfortunate situation. Often used in a compassionate tone.

〈人ひと〉がかわいそうsomeone/something is pitiable, poor thing
一人ひとりで泣ないている子こ供どもがかわいそうだった。
The child crying alone was pitiful.
〈人ひと〉をかわいそうに思おもうto feel sorry for someone
彼かの女じょをかわいそうに思おもって、声こえをかけた。
Feeling sorry for her, I spoke to her.
かわいそうな〈人ひと〉a pitiful/poor (person, animal, etc.)
その犬いぬは捨すてられたかわいそうな動どう物ぶつだった。
That dog was a poor abandoned animal.
〈事こと〉でかわいそうpitiful because of ~
病びょう気きでかわいそうな子こ供どもたちを助たすけたい。
I want to help the children who are suffering from illness.

気きの毒どくN3
気の毒 is a somewhat formal way to express sympathy for someone's misfortune, while かわいそう is the everyday, more emotionally direct word for feeling pity.
哀あわれN3
哀れ is a literary word implying deep or tragic pity, whereas かわいそう is the softer, colloquial term used in daily conversation.
不ふ憫びんN1
不憫 is a slightly formal, somewhat old-fashioned word for pitying someone in a helpless situation, while かわいそう is the common, natural-sounding equivalent.
愛いとしいN1
かわいそう is the common modern word for feeling pity, while 愛しい in its rare archaic sense conveys a similar tender pity mixed with affection.

可愛かわいらしいN3
可哀想 looks and sounds similar to 可愛らしい but means 'pitiful, poor thing', an entirely different meaning that learners often confuse.
かわいいN5
可哀想 looks and sounds similar to 可愛い but means 'pitiful, poor thing', evoking sympathy rather than charm.

かわいそうUsage64%
Kana spelling is standard; the word is usually written in kana.
可哀想かわいそうUsage19%
ateji (phonetic kanji usage)
Ateji kanji form; seen in some writing but less common than kana.
可哀相かわいそうUsage10%
ateji (phonetic kanji usage)
Ateji kanji form; historically common but now less frequent.
可哀かわいそうUsage7%
ateji (phonetic kanji usage)
Mixed kana-kanji ateji form; rarely used.
カワイソウUsage<1%
可愛かわいそう
Ateji form using 可愛; can be confused with 可愛い (かわいい).

Derived from かわいい (cute, lovable) with the suffix そう (seems, looks), literally 'seems pitiable'. The kanji forms are ateji.