‘乞怜’ is a literary, slightly derogatory verb meaning ‘to beg for pity’ or ‘to plead pathetically for sympathy or mercy.’ It combines 乞 (qǐ), meaning ‘to beg’ or ‘to ask humbly,’ and 怜 (lián), meaning ‘pity,’ ‘compassion,’ or ‘sympathy.’ Together, they evoke an image of someone lowering themselves—often excessively or unbecomingly—to elicit emotional leniency from others. The term carries connotations of weakness, desperation, or loss of dignity, and is rarely used in neutral or positive contexts.

It appears most often in written Chinese—essays, literature, political commentary—or in formal speech to criticize someone’s perceived lack of self-respect or principled stance. While it can describe human behavior, it’s also frequently applied metaphorically to animals (e.g., a stray dog whimpering for food) or even abstract entities (e.g., a failing company pleading for government aid), reinforcing its emotive and evaluative force.