怕羞 (pà xiū) — shy, bashful | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Shy / bashful in temperament — used to describe a person's character, often in negative imperatives like 别怕羞 ('don't be shy!').

adjective

shybashful

Examples

怕羞，。
Tā fēi cháng pà xiū, bù gǎn zài dà jiā miàn qián shuō huà.
She is very shy and doesn't dare to speak in front of everyone.
怕羞。
Tā zài mò shēng rén miàn qián hěn pà xiū.
He is very shy in front of strangers.
怕羞，。
Bié pà xiū, yǒu shén me huà jiù shuō chū lái.
Don't be shy; just say what you have to say.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

'怕' means fear and '羞' means shame: afraid of shame, hence shy.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

白

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

怕 pairs 心 (heart) with 白, which gives the sound.

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

羊丑羞

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

丑

丑chǒu羞xiū

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

羞 is built from 羊, a sheep, as the meaning part, and 丑 for the sound.

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