悲観

See also: 悲觀

Japanese

Kanji in this term
悲	観
ひ Grade: 3	かん Grade: 4
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
悲觀 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 悲觀 (“compassionate view”, literally “view of pity”), a Buddhist term. Compare 慈悲 (jihi, “compassion”). Reanalyzed as 悲 (“sadness”) +‎ 観 (“outlook”).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ひかん [hìkáń] (Heiban – [0])
IPA^(key): [çi̥kã̠ɴ]

Noun

悲(ひ)観(かん) • (hikan)

(Buddhism) a compassionate world view that motivates individuals to help and eliminate suffering
pessimism
Antonym: 楽観
despair; discouragement

Derived terms

悲(ひ)観(かん)的(てき) (hikanteki)
悲(ひ)観(かん)論(ろん) (hikanron)
悲(ひ)観(かん)主(しゅ)義(ぎ) (hikan shugi)

Verb

悲(ひ)観(かん)する • (hikan suru) transitive or intransitive suru (stem 悲(ひ)観(かん)し (hikan shi), past 悲(ひ)観(かん)した (hikan shita))

to be pessimistic
to lose hope; to despair; to be disappointed
選(えら)ばれなくても悲観(ひかん)していない。
Erabarenakute mo hikan shiteinai.
I didn't lose hope even after I wasn't selected.

Conjugation

Conjugation of "悲観する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs)
Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	悲観し	ひかんし	hikan shi
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	悲観し	ひかんし	hikan shi
Shūshikei ("terminal")	悲観する	ひかんする	hikan suru
Rentaikei ("attributive")	悲観する	ひかんする	hikan suru
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	悲観すれ	ひかんすれ	hikan sure
Meireikei ("imperative")	悲観せよ¹ 悲観しろ²	ひかんせよ¹ ひかんしろ²	hikan seyo¹ hikan shiro²
Key constructions
Passive	悲観される	ひかんされる	hikan sareru
Causative	悲観させる悲観さす	ひかんさせるひかんさす	hikan saseru hikan sasu
Potential	悲観できる	ひかんできる	hikan dekiru
Volitional	悲観しよう	ひかんしよう	hikan shiyō
Negative	悲観しない	ひかんしない	hikan shinai
Negative continuative	悲観せず	ひかんせず	hikan sezu
Formal	悲観します	ひかんします	hikan shimasu
Perfective	悲観した	ひかんした	hikan shita
Conjunctive	悲観して	ひかんして	hikan shite
Hypothetical conditional	悲観すれば	ひかんすれば	hikan sureba

¹ Written imperative
² Spoken imperative

Descendants

→ Chinese: 悲觀 / 悲观 (bēiguān)
→ Korean: 비관 (bigwan)
→ Vietnamese: bi quan

References

“悲観”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026