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失礼 (shī lǐ) — to act discourteously, to be rude (in a formal or social context); (used in apologies) forgive me for my impropriety

Definition

A polite, formal word meaning 'to be rude' in a social or ceremonial context, often used as a set apology. Unlike 泼 (boorish or coarse in speech), 失礼 refers to a breach of manners, not rough behavior.

verb
to act discourteouslyto be rude (in a formal or social context)(used in apologies) forgive me for my impropriety

Examples

  • ，失礼。
    Zài zhǎng bèi miàn qián shuō zhè yàng de huà, zhēn shì tài shī lǐ le.
    Saying something like that in front of elders is really discourteous.
  • 失礼，。
    Gāng cái wǒ shī lǐ le, qǐng nín yuán liàng.
    I was rude just now; please forgive me.
  • ，失礼。
    Dì yī cì jiàn miàn jiù chí dào, shí zài hěn shī lǐ.
    Being late for the first meeting is truly discourteous.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

失shīlose
礼lǐpropriety

失 (lose) and 礼 (propriety) combine: losing proper etiquette means acting rudely.

Characters in this word

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

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 禮; 礼 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
礻Written in full as示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
豊
豊lǐ禮lǐ
Same sound today

The traditional form 禮 pairs 礻 (altar) with 豊, a sound part, for performing rites at the altar; the simplified 礼 is a later shorthand.

Open 礼 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Greetings & Politeness

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