耻 (chǐ): shame
耻 (chǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “shame.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 耳 (semantic) and 止 (phonetic). It ranks #2121 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 耻 ear. Its radical form 耳 (ear) appears in many related characters such as 闻 (wén, to hear, to smell), 职 (zhí, job, duty), 联 (lián, connect, unite).
Definitions
- shame
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 耻 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 羞耻 | xiū chǐ | (a feeling of) shame |
| 无耻 | wú chǐ | without any sense of shame |
| 耻辱 | chǐ rǔ | disgrace |
| 可耻 | kě chǐ | shameful |
| 廉耻 | lián chǐ | honor and shame |
| 奇耻大辱 | qí chǐ dà rǔ | (idiom) a great humiliation |
| 耻笑 | chǐ xiào | to sneer at sb |
| 耻骨 | chǐ gǔ | pubis |
| 不耻下问 | bù chǐ xià wèn | not feel ashamed to ask and learn from one's subordinates |
| 好学近乎知,力行近乎仁,知耻近乎勇 | hào xué jìn hū zhī , lì xíng jìn hū rén , zhī chǐ jìn hū yǒng | to love learning is akin to knowledge, to study diligently is akin to benevolence, to know shame is akin to courage (... |
| 一雪前耻 | yī xuě qián chǐ | to wipe away a humiliation (idiom) |
| 病耻感 | bìng chǐ gǎn | stigma attached to a disease |
| 不知羞耻 | bù zhī xiū chǐ | to have no sense of shame |
| 恬不知耻 | tián bù zhī chǐ | to have no sense of shame |
| 八荣八耻 | bā róng bā chǐ | Eight Honors and Eight Shames, PRC official moral guidelines |
耻 appears in 27 compound words: 19 as the first character, 67 as the last, and 15 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 耻 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
to avenge a wrong and wipe out or erase humiliation; to take revenge for an insult
to avenge a wrong and wipe out or erase humiliation; to take revenge for an insult
Example Sentences
知耻而后勇,只有认识到错误才能改正。
Zhī chǐ ér hòu yǒng, zhǐyǒu rènshi dào cuòwù cáinéng gǎizhèng.
Knowing shame leads to courage; only by recognizing mistakes can they be corrected.
横眉冷看:他字典里没羞耻一词
héng méi lěng kàn : tā zì diǎn lǐ méi xiū chǐ yī cí
A cold, scornful glare: The word "shame" doesn't exist in his vocabulary.
...云尼斯奥斯“哭泣”庆祝 反击曼城球迷去年耻笑失落金球奖
. . . yún ní sī ào sī kū qì qìng zhù fǎn jī 曼 chéng qiú mí qù nián chǐ xiào shī luò jīn qiú jiǎng
...Younes "wept" in celebration, striking back at Manchester City fans who had mocked him last year for missing out on the Ballon d'Or
...底沦为政治斗争的廉价工具,是这代台湾人的耻辱
. . . de 沦 wéi zhèng zhì dǒu zhēng de lián jià gōng jù , shì zhè dài tái wān rén de chǐ rǔ
... It is a shame for this generation of Taiwanese to become a cheap tool for political struggle
“李贞秀案是宪政之耻!”蓝质疑卓揆立场是否与总统不同
lǐ zhēn xiù àn shì xiàn zhèng zhī chǐ ! lán zhì yí zhuó 揆 lì chǎng shì fǒu yǔ zǒng tǒng bù tóng
"The Lee Jung-so case is a constitutional shame!" Lan questioned whether Zhuo Kui's position was different from that of the president
杏林之耻!桃园涉偷拍狼医 判刑前仍可执业
杏 lín zhī chǐ ! táo yuán shè tōu pāi láng yī pàn xíng qián réng kě zhí yè
Shame of the apricot forest! Taoyuan was involved in secretly filming wolf doctors and could still practice before sentencing
不遵守承诺是可耻的。
Bù zūnshǒu chéngnuò shì kěchǐ de.
It is a shame not to keep your promise.
你应该为你的愚蠢感到羞耻。
Nǐ yīnggāi wèi nǐ de yúchǔn gǎndào xiūchǐ.
You should be ashamed of your folly.
我为你的卑鄙行径刚到羞耻。
Wǒ wèi nǐ de bēibǐ xíngjìng gāng dào xiūchǐ.
I am ashamed of your despicable deed.
提问对他来说是很羞耻的事。
Tíwèn duì tā lái shuō shì hěn xiūchǐ de shì.
He is ashamed to ask questions.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 耻 (chǐ) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 耻 and 此?
How many strokes does 耻 have?
What is the radical of 耻?
What are the components of 耻?
What are common words containing 耻?
What characters sound the same as 耻 (chǐ)?
Is 耻 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 耻 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.