怜 lián to pity
Made up of [忄 xīn heart radical 61, 令 lìng to order; to command; an order ]Alternative traditional form of character: 憐
Made with 8 strokes.
The heart radical suggests emotion, 'ling' is the very rough phonetic and can be thought of as an 'order' to the 'heart'
Related characters
Also uses 忄 xīn component: 懂 dǒng (to understand) 悔 huǐ (to regret) 惊 jīng (to start) 快 kuài (rapid) 忙 máng (busy) 怕 pà (to be afraid) 情 qíng (affection) 忆 yì (to recollect)
Also uses 令 lìng component: 冷 lěng (cold) 邻 lín (neighbor) 领 lǐng (neck) 零 líng (zero) 龄 líng (age)