羞愧

§ Understanding 羞愧 (xiū kuì)

Definition

Shame; remorse; feeling ashamed.

Alright, let's break down 羞愧 (xiū kuì). This word means 'shame' or 'to feel ashamed.' It's an adjective, so you'll usually see it describing someone's feeling. It implies a strong sense of regret and embarrassment, often because of something you did or failed to do.

§ Common Sentence Structures with 羞愧 (xiū kuì)

Since 羞愧 is an adjective, it behaves like many other adjectives in Chinese. Here are the most common ways you'll use it.

• Subject + 很/非常 + 羞愧: This is the simplest way to express that someone feels very ashamed.

  他感到羞愧极了。

  Tā gǎndào xiū kuì jí le.
  (He felt extremely ashamed.)

  我为自己的行为感到很羞愧。

  Wǒ wèi zìjǐ de xíngwéi gǎndào hěn xiū kuì.
  (I felt very ashamed of my actions.)

• 让 (ràng) + Someone + 感到/觉得 + 羞愧: This structure means 'to make someone feel ashamed.'

  他的谎言让我感到羞愧。

  Tā de huǎngyán ràng wǒ gǎndào xiū kuì.
  (His lie made me feel ashamed.)

  那件事使她觉得很羞愧。

  Nà jiàn shì shǐ tā juéde hěn xiū kuì.
  (That incident made her feel very ashamed.)

• 羞愧地 (xiū kuì de) + Verb: This turns 羞愧 into an adverb, meaning 'ashamedly' or 'with shame,' describing how an action is performed.

  她羞愧地低下了头。

  Tā xiū kuì de dīxià le tóu.
  (She lowered her head in shame / shamefully.)

  他羞愧地承认了自己的错误。

  Tā xiū kuì de chéngrèn le zìjǐ de cuòwù.
  (He shamefully admitted his mistake.)

§ Prepositions and Context

When you want to specify why someone feels 羞愧, you'll often use '为 (wèi)' or '对 (duì)'.

• 为 (wèi) + [reason/action] + 感到羞愧: '为' here means 'for' or 'because of'.

  我为我刚才说的话感到羞愧。

  Wǒ wèi wǒ gāngcái shuō de huà gǎndào xiū kuì.
  (I feel ashamed of what I just said.)

• 对 (duì) + [person/thing] + 感到羞愧: '对' here indicates who or what the shame is directed towards.

  他对自己的行为感到羞愧。

  Tā duì zìjǐ de xíngwéi gǎndào xiū kuì.
  (He felt ashamed of his own behavior.)