How to Say "Mercy" in Cantonese

慈悲

ci4 bei1

In Cantonese, mercy is translated as 慈悲 (ci4 bei1).

The term 慈悲 is most commonly used in religious or formal contexts, such as Buddhism, to describe divine compassion or mercy.

Meaning: forgiveness or compassion (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The first character 慈 (ci4) means compassion or love.

憐憫 represents mercy as an act of compassion towards others, and 饒恕 denotes mercy as an act of forgiveness or pardon.

仁慈 is frequently used in Macau to express mercy as an act of kindness and benevolence.

ci4 bei1

While 慈悲 is a formal noun, if you want to ask someone to 'have mercy' on you in a desperate situation, you would likely use the phrase 放過我 (fong3 gwo3 ngo5), which literally means 'let me go'.
The character 慈 in 慈悲 is the same character used to describe the love between a mother and her child. This roots the concept of mercy in a biological, familial bond of protection.
While 慈悲 is the formal term, Cantonese speakers often use the word 心軟 meaning 'soft-hearted' to describe the actual feeling of being unable to be cruel to someone.

喺佢哋嘅職業生涯入面，第六人經常被飛行嘅想法迷住，呢隻雀一次又一次地成為佢哋最神聖嘅象徵，佢哋嘅一神論往往唔係崇拜神，而係崇拜一隻神鳥，而家被構想為神聖嘅海鷹，有力量嘅翅膀，而家係巨人嘅迅捷，有慈悲嘅翅膀，而家係有慈悲嘅精神賦予人類飛行，身體同精神。
Throughout their career the Sixth Men had often been fascinated by the idea of flight. The bird was again and again their most sacred symbol. Their monotheism was apt to be worship not of a god-man, but of a godbird, conceived now as the divine sea-eagle, winged with power, now as the giant swift, winged with mercy, now as a disembodied spirit of air, and once as the bird-god that became man to endow the human race with flight, physical and spiritual.
This sentence uses 慈悲 to describe a symbol of mercy in a spiritual context.
Tatoeba #13107383 by Davidgo5867, translation #8857424 by nonong
佢嘅心入面充滿咗慈悲。
keoi5 ge3 sam1 jap6 cung1 mun5 zo2 ci4 bei1.
His heart is full of mercy.

Sources

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