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无地自容 (wú dì zì róng) — extremely ashamed; mortified

Definition

Literally 'no ground to contain oneself' — a chengyu for being so ashamed you wish the ground would swallow you up. Stronger than 惭愧 (a quiet sense of shame); closer in force to 羞愧.

idiom
extremely ashamedmortified

Examples

  • ，无地自容。
    Tā fā xiàn zì jǐ shuō cuò le huà, dùn shí gǎn dào wú dì zì róng.
    He realized he had said something wrong and immediately felt mortified.
  • ，无地自容。
    Dāng zhe suǒ yǒu rén de miàn bèi pī píng, tā xiū dé wú dì zì róng.
    Being criticized in front of everyone, she was so ashamed she wished she could disappear.
  • 无地自容。
    Tā de yú chǔn xíng wéi ràng quán jiā wú dì zì róng.
    His foolish behavior brought shame upon the whole family.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 自 →

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
公
公gōng容róng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 容, the 宀 (roof) part points to holding or containing, and 公 gives the sound.

Open 容 →
Appears in
Emotions & FeelingsIdioms & Set Phrases

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