Taxonomy of meanings for 惜:　　

  • 惜 xī (OC: sqaɡ MC: siɛk) 思積切 入 廣韻：【悋惜説文痛也 】
    • psychological>SYMPATHY
      • vtoNpassivebe sympathised with, be felt sorry forCH
      • intensitive>LOVE
          • the dead>MOURNING
              • generalised: regrettably>REGRET
                • vt[0](oN)(I) regret the contextually determinate situation N> what a pity!
                • vtoNstativeregret (something that is about to happen); regret (an impossibility); think sadly of
                • vtoNPab{S}to regret that (with sentential object)
            • action>CARE FOR
              • vtoNreflexive.自take sympathetic care forCH
              • practical>KEEP
                  • feature>FRUGAL
                    • vadNstingy
                    • vtoNbe reluctant to let go of, be stingy with
                    • vtoNfigurativefail to make a proper effort on
                    • vtoNpsychbe frugal in the use of (oneself)

          Additional information about 惜

          說文解字:

            Criteria
          • FRUGAL

            1. The current general word for the virtue of parsimony is jiǎn 儉 (ant. shē 奢 "extravagant in the use of resources").

            2. Jié 節 (ant. chǐ 侈 "lavish use of resources") refers to the virtue of moderation in the use of things as it applies to specified areas and does not function an abstract philosophical concept of parsimony.

            3. The negative quality of stinginess is lìn 吝 (ant. POST-BUDDHIST kāng kǎi 慷慨 "generous (with friends)", and in pre-Buddhist times the less exact huì 惠 "generous (to inferiors)").

            4. The neutral terms for thrift are shěng 省 (ant. fèi 費 "spend freely"), jiǎn 簡, and yuē 約.

            5. Xí 惜 (ant. tài 泰 / 汰 "use up resources thoughtlessly") refers to the reluctance to let go of something or to use it up.

          • WASTE

            1. The current general word for habitual wastefulness is hào 耗 (ant. liǎn 斂 "economical, parsimonious").

            2. Fèi 費 (ant. jié 節 "be economical in the use of resources") refers specifically to single acts of wastefulness.

            3. Fèi 廢 (ant. cún 存 "keep and avoid spending") refers to an inclination to use large sums without necessarily indicating that such large expenditure is wasteful.

            4. Kuàng 曠 "waste" (ant. xī 惜 "make sparing use of") is limited to the combination kuàng rì 曠日 "waste time" (ant. shěng shí 省時 "save time" seems late).

          • REGRET

            1. The current general word for regret of one's actions is huǐ 悔, whereas the current general word for regretting past experience is hèn 恨.　LH: 鳥與人異，謂之能悔。

            2. Jiù 疚 refers to specifically moral regret.

            3. Xí 惜 refers to emotional and sentimental regret.