TongTong
Sign in

内疚 (nèi jiù) — guilty conscience; compunction; remorse

Definition

内疚 is the painful feeling of guilt over something you did wrong — an inward, emotional sense, distinct from the external blame of 责备 or the formal wrongdoing of 罪.

noun
guilty consciencecompunctionremorse

Examples

  • 内疚。
    Tā wèi zì jǐ de cuò wù gǎn dào shēn shēn de nèi jiù.
    He felt deep guilt for his own mistakes.
  • 内疚。
    Zhè zhǒng nèi jiù yì zhí zhé mó zhe tā.
    This guilty conscience has been tormenting him.
  • 内疚。
    Tā wú fǎ bǎi tuō xīn zhōng de nèi jiù.
    She cannot shake off the guilt in her heart.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

内nèiinside
疚jiùpain or guilt

内 refers to the inside, and 疚 refers to pain or guilt, giving a guilty conscience.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 入入rùto enter
  • 冂冂jiōnghouse

The shape shows 入 entering into 冂, a house, so it pictures bringing something indoors, giving the sense inside.

Open 内 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in
Emotions & Feelings5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.