The kanji 悲 primarily expresses the emotion of sorrow, sadness, or grief. It conveys a deep feeling of unhappiness, usually resulting from loss, disappointment, or suffering. The core meaning focuses on a profound emotional state of desolation.

・On-yomi (音読み): ヒ (hi) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): かな（しい） (kana(shii))

⚫︎ 悲しい Translation: sad ⚫︎ 悲劇 (higeki) Translation: tragedy ⚫︎ 悲しみ Translation: sorrow, grief

The kanji 悲 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound character. The left side is 非 (hi), which originally meant "not" or "wrong," and by extension, "unfavorable" or "unfortunate." The right side is 心 (kokoro), meaning "heart" or "mind." The combination suggests a heart that is experiencing something unfavorable or unfortunate, hence "sorrow" or "sadness."