na-adjective, noun
delicately lovely; sweet; cute
Used for a gentle, delicate kind of loveliness, especially of young women, girls, flowers, or small graceful things; more refined and literary-sounding than everyday かわいい.
庭に可憐な花が咲いている。
Delicately lovely flowers are blooming in the garden.
彼女は白いワンピースがよく似合う、可憐な人だ。
She is a sweet, delicate-looking person who looks good in a white dress.
na-adjective, noun
A rarer sense meaning deserving of pity or compassion. In modern Japanese, 可憐 is usually understood as 'delicately lovely' unless the context clearly points to misfortune or pathos.
その孤児の可憐な身の上を聞いて、胸が痛んだ。
Hearing the orphan's pitiable circumstances made my heart ache.
More everyday and broad for 'cute' or 'adorable'; 可憐 is more delicate, refined, and often suggests fragility or grace.
Also means 'lovely' or 'adorable,' but focuses on charm and affection; 可憐 has a more delicate, dainty tone.
A more direct word for 'pitiful' or 'pathetic'; the pitiful sense of 可憐 is rarer and can sound literary or old-fashioned.
A Sino-Japanese word written with 可 and 憐. The spelling is conventionally associated with the idea of something that invites tender feeling or compassion; the precise historical development of the modern 'delicately lovely' nuance is not specified.