Chinese Character: 谅
1. Character Basics
Radical: 讠 (yán, speech radical)
Stroke Count: 10
Stroke Order:
2. Pronunciation
Pinyin: liàng (Fourth tone)
3. Meaning
Understand; forgive; excuse; pardon; understanding; consider; be considerate; lenient; tolerant
4. Common Words
- 原谅 (yuánliàng) - to forgive; to excuse
- 体谅 (tǐliàng) - to understand and sympathize with; to be considerate of
- 谅解 (liàngjiě) - understanding; forgiveness; mutual understanding
- 原谅 (yuánliàng) - to forgive; to excuse
- 见谅 (jiànliàng) - please excuse me; beg your pardon
- 谅察 (liàngchá) - please understand; please take into consideration
- 谅必 (liàngbì) - no doubt; certainly; must be
- 恕谅 (shùliàng) - to excuse; to forgive
5. Grammar & Usage
The character "谅" (liàng) primarily functions as a verb meaning "to understand" or "to forgive" in modern Chinese.
Grammar Patterns:
- 动词: 原谅某人 (to forgive someone), 体谅困难 (to understand the difficulties)
- 名词: 谅解 (understanding), 体谅 (consideration)
- 副词: 谅必 (no doubt; certainly)
- 固定搭配: 互相谅解 (mutual understanding), 体谅包容 (understanding and tolerance)
- 礼貌用语: 请见谅 (please excuse me), 还望谅察 (I hope you will understand)
6. Cultural Background
The concept of "谅" (forgiveness and understanding) is deeply rooted in Chinese culture and Confucian philosophy.
Confucian teachings emphasize the importance of benevolence (仁, rén), righteousness (义, yì), propriety (礼, lǐ), wisdom (智, zhì), and trustworthiness (信, xìn). Among these virtues, "谅解" (mutual understanding) and "宽容" (tolerance) are considered essential for maintaining harmonious relationships in society.
In traditional Chinese society, being able to understand and forgive others was seen as a sign of moral character and maturity. This value is still highly regarded in modern Chinese culture.
The character "谅" often appears in idioms related to understanding and forgiveness, such as "互相谅解" (mutual understanding) and "宽宏大量" (magnanimous).
In interpersonal communication, phrases like "请原谅" (please forgive me) and "请见谅" (please excuse me) are commonly used to express apologies and seek understanding.
7. Example Sentence
中文: 我知道你不是故意的，所以我原谅你了。
Pinyin: Wǒ zhīdào nǐ búshì gùyì de, suǒyǐ wǒ yuánliàng nǐ le.
English: I know you didn't do it on purpose, so I forgive you.
8. Memory Tips
The character "谅" (liàng) consists of the radical "讠" (speech radical) and the character "京" (jīng, capital city).
To remember this character, think of "speaking with understanding" or "expressing forgiveness" in the capital city, which connects to its meaning of understanding and forgiveness.
Another way to remember it is to associate the "讠" (speech) part with communication and the "京" part with a place where people need to get along harmoniously, requiring mutual understanding and forgiveness.
Practice writing the character following the stroke order to help with memorization.
Associate the character with common words like "原谅" (forgive) and "体谅" (understand and sympathize with) to reinforce its meaning and usage.