Taxonomy of meanings for 弔:  

  • 弔 diào (OC: teewɡs MC: teu) 多嘯切 去 廣韻:【弔生曰唁弔死曰弔多嘯切又音的七 】
    • MOURNING
      • vtoNto bemoan the loss of (a person dear to one but not directly family-related to one), typically through a ritual visit of the bereaved family
      • vadNmourning
      • nabactmourning
      • vt(oN.)+prep+Ncondole for a contextually determinate person at N
      • vt(oN)mourn for the contextually determinate person
      • vt+prep+Npay a visit of condolence to the place N
      • CONSOLE
        • vt(oN)offer one's condolences
        • vtoNoffer condolences to
        • vt+prep+Noffer one's condolences to
      • SYMPATHY
        • SAD
          • vifeel grieved by
    • 弔 dì (OC: tiiwɢs MC: tek) 都歷切 入 廣韻:【至也又音釣 】
      • GOOD
        • viarchaic: good

      Additional information about 弔

      說文解字:

        Criteria
      • MOURNING

        1. The most general current word is sāng 喪 which embraces all phases and aspects of complex process of mourning in ancient China.

        2. Diào 弔 / 吊 (ant. qìng 慶 "congratulate") is to publicly express one's sorrow on the occasion of the death of someone outside one's own immedidate family.

        3. Dào 悼 is to publicly bemoan any major disaster regarding a person, including serious disease or serious accidents.

        4. Kū 哭 (ant. xiào 笑 "laugh with joy") is often used as a generalised verb referring to participation in all sorts of mourning rituals and activities.

        5. Āi 哀 refers to engaging in mourning primarily for a near relative, but the word also has common extending meanings where it extends to any kind of grief. See GRIEF.

      • CONGRATULATE

        1. Hè 賀 (ant. diào 弔 "condolence) is a formal act of felicitation usually accompanied with the giving of presents.

        2. Qìng 慶 refers to a celebration of something regarded as felicitous, and the range of the occasions of such felicitations is somewhat broader than with hè 賀, including such things as lucky escapes and the like.

      • CONSOLE

        1. The most general word for comforting someone is probably the rather rare wèi 慰.

        2. Diào 弔 / 吊 (ant. hè 賀 "congratulate on a felicitous occasion") refers to condolence in the presence of the body of the deceased, and the word has a special meaning "mourn the death of" where it takes the deceased as the grammatical object.

        3. Yàn 唁 refers to any condolence visit to the family of someone who has suffered a serious misfortune of any kind, including bereavement or loss of a state.

        4. Suī 綏 refers to offering comfort to an individual or a group that is in some form of trouble, and the subject is typically a person in authority.

        5. Fǔ 撫 focusses on soothing and caring action conducive to peace and security by a person in authority, and there is no implication of relief from intense suffering.

        6. Wèn 問 refers more generally to paying a visit to someone on the occasion of a case of illness etc..

        7. Lào 勞 refers to giving comfort to those who are exhausted after a worthy effort.

        Word relations
      • Ant: (MOURNING)賀/CONGRATULATE Hè 賀 (ant. diào 弔 "condolence) is a formal act of felicitation usually accompanied with the giving of presents.