惜

A phono-semantic compound:

心 (마음 심) — semantic component, emotion, feeling

昔 (옛 석) — phonetic component, provides the sound "seok"

The presence of 心 shows that the meaning is emotional, while 昔 supplies pronunciation.

The original sense is “to feel emotional pain at the loss or wasting of something once valued.”

Semantic development:

- to feel pain over loss

- to value and cherish

- to regret waste or missed opportunity

- to be emotionally reluctant

Thus, 惜 lies at the intersection of emotion, value, and loss.

愛惜 (애석) — to cherish; to value dearly

惜別 (석별) — regretful parting

可惜 (가석) — regrettable; a pity

珍惜 (진석) — to treasure (modern usage)

惜敗 (석패) — narrow or regretful defeat

惜命 (석명) — to value one’s life excessively (classical / literary)

惜 differs from 省 (아낄 성):

省 — practical thrift, saving resources

惜 — emotional attachment and regret

In modern Chinese, 可惜 is extremely common, meaning “what a pity.”

In classical texts, 惜 often expresses moral restraint, regret, or emotional valuation, not mere thrift.

《論語》 (The Analects)

「惜言語，重行事。」

“Be sparing with words and serious in actions.”

《史記》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「惜其才而不用。」

“They regretted his talent going unused.”

《莊子》 (Zhuangzi)

「不惜性命。」

“To spare no effort, even life itself.”