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adjective | xiū kuì | ashamed |
| 愧疚adjective | kuì jiù | to feel guilty |
| 惭愧adjective | cán kuì | ashamed |
| 不愧adverb | bù kuì | to be worthy of |
| 当之无愧phrase | dāng zhī wú kuì | fully deserving, without any reservations (idiom) |
| 问心无愧phrase | wèn xīn wú kuì | lit. look into one's heart, no shame (idiom) |
| 无愧verb | wú kuì | to have a clear conscience |
| 愧对verb | kuì duì | to be ashamed to face (sb) |
| 自愧不如phrase | 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phrase | 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) |
| 自愧弗如phrase | zì kuì fú rú | to feel ashamed at being inferior (idiom) |
| 愧悔无地 | kuì huǐ wú dì | ashamed and unable to show one's face (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.
synonym of 自愧不如 (zìkuì-bùrú, “to be ashamed of not being as good as someone else”)
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.
厚重的云层、茂密的植被，无愧于西藏江南的名号。
hòu chóng de yún céng , mào mì de zhí bèi , wú kuì yú xī zàng jiāng nán de míng hào .
With its thick clouds and lush vegetation, it truly lives up to its reputation as the “Jiangnan of Tibet.”
...!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
...! 33-year-old actor breaks his three-year silence: 'I'm ashamed of my cowardice'
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
Video: Huang Kuo-chang Chokes Up, Feels Guilty Toward Ko Wen-je, Blames Himself for Not Doing Enough
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.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 忄 (heart) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 愧 (kuì) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 愧 and 瑰?
How many strokes does 愧 have?
What is the radical of 愧?
What are the components of 愧?
What are common words containing 愧?
What characters sound the same as 愧 (kuì)?
Is 愧 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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