无愧于 (wú kuì yú) — to be worthy of; to deserve

Definition

A formal, written phrase meaning 'to be worthy of / live up to' — used for honors, missions, or eras that one has earned. Less common in everyday speech.

verb
to be worthy ofto deserve

Examples

  • 无愧于。
    Tā wú kuì yú zì jǐ de shǐ mìng.
    He is worthy of his mission.
  • 无愧于。
    Zhè ge róng yù wú kuì yú tā de nǔ lì.
    This honor is worthy of his efforts.
  • 无愧于。
    Wǒ men wú kuì yú zhè ge wěi dà de shí dài.
    We are worthy of this great era.

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
鬼
鬼guǐ愧kuì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

愧 has 心, the heart, on the left and 鬼 on the right. 鬼 gives the sound, while 心 shows that the meaning is a feeling in the heart.

Open 愧 →

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

  • 一一yīflat stream of air
  • 丂丂kǎoto exhale

The old shape of 于 may have pictured an ancient wind instrument. Another explanation reads 一 as a flat stream of air and 丂 as an exhaling mark.

Open 于 →

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