愧 (kuì): ashamed
愧 (kuì) is a Chinese character meaning “ashamed.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 忄 (semantic) and 鬼 (phonetic). It ranks #2219 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 愧 heart. Its radical form 忄 (heart) appears in many related characters such as 忙 (máng, busy), 快 (kuài, fast, happy), 怎 (zěn, how).
Definitions
- ashamed
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 羞愧 | xiū kuì | ashamed |
| 愧疚 | kuì jiù | to feel guilty |
| 惭愧 | cán kuì | ashamed |
| 不愧 | bù kuì | to be worthy of |
| 当之无愧 | dāng zhī wú kuì | fully deserving, without any reservations (idiom) |
| 问心无愧 | wèn xīn wú kuì | lit. look into one's heart, no shame (idiom) |
| 无愧 | wú kuì | to have a clear conscience |
| 愧对 | kuì duì | to be ashamed to face (sb) |
| 自愧不如 | zì kuì bù rú | ashamed of being inferior (idiom) |
| 当之有愧 | dāng zhī yǒu kuì | to feel undeserving of the praise or the honor |
| 不愧下学 | bù kuì xià xué | not ashamed to learn from subordinates (idiom) |
| 问心有愧 | wèn xīn yǒu kuì | to have a guilty conscience |
| 愧不敢当 | kuì bù gǎn dāng | lit. I'm ashamed and dare not (accept the honor) |
| 愧悔无地 | kuì huǐ wú dì | ashamed and unable to show one's face (idiom) |
| 不愧不怍 | bù kuì bù zuò | no shame, no subterfuge (idiom) |
愧 appears in 26 compound words: 35 as the first character, 46 as the last, and 19 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 愧 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (9)
lit. I'm ashamed and dare not (accept the honor); fig. I do not deserve your praise.; You flatter me too much.
no shame, no subterfuge (idiom); just and honorable; upright and above board
lit. I'm ashamed and dare not (accept the honor); fig. I do not deserve your praise.; You flatter me too much.
no shame, no subterfuge (idiom); just and honorable; upright and above board
Example Sentences
这件事让我愧烦意乱，整夜都没有睡好。
zhè jiàn shì ràng wǒ kuì fán yì luàn , zhěng yè dū méi yǒu shuì hǎo .
This matter has left me troubled and restless, unable to sleep well all night.
...!33岁男星沉寂3年首发声:为懦弱感到羞愧
. . . ! 3 3 suì nán xīng chén jì 3 nián shǒu fā shēng : wéi 懦 ruò gǎn dào xiū kuì
影/黄国昌哽咽愧对柯文哲 自责做得不够多
yǐng huáng guó chāng gěng yān kuì duì Kē wén zhé zì zé zuò dé bù gòu duō
赖慰玲埃及之旅取消 对儿子心怀愧疚
lài wèi 玲 埃 jí zhī lǚ qǔ xiāo duì ér zǐ xīn huái kuì 疚
Lai Wei-ling Cancels Trip to Egypt, Feels Guilty Toward Her Son
...膝态度遭狠批 日网民斥:夸张表情让我感羞愧
. . . xī tài dù zāo hěn pī rì wǎng mín chì : kuā zhāng biǎo qíng ràng wǒ gǎn xiū kuì
...His attitude has drawn fierce criticism; Japanese netizens have condemned him, saying, "His exaggerated expressions make me feel ashamed."
他不因贫穷而感到羞愧。
Tā bù yīn pínqióng ér gǎndào xiūkuì.
He is not ashamed of being poor.
汤姆感到非常愧疚。
Tāngmǔ gǎndào fēicháng kuìjiù.
Tom felt very guilty.
我对自己的行为感到羞愧。
Wǒ duì zìjǐ de xíngwéi gǎndào xiūkuì.
I was ashamed of my behavior.
他总有一天会为此感到愧疚的。
Tā zǒngyǒu yī tiān huì wèicǐ gǎndào kuìjiù de.
He will be sorry for it some day.
问心无愧是一个非常柔软的枕头。
Wènxīnwúkuì shì yī gè fēicháng róuruǎn de zhěntou.
A clear conscience is an extraordinarily soft pillow.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 愧 (kuì)?
Is 愧 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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