无愧 (wú kuì) — to have a clear conscience; to feel no shame; to be worthy (of)

Definition

Literary verb meaning 'to be worthy of / have a clear conscience about'. Often follows 于 + a title or standard (无愧于…), unlike 惭愧, which names the feeling of shame itself.

verb
to have a clear conscienceto feel no shameto be worthy (of)

Examples

  • 。
    Tā duì zì jǐ zuò de shì wèn xīn wú kuì.
    He has a clear conscience about what he did.
  • 。
    Tā duì jiā xiāng fù mǔ wú yì diǎn kuì.
    He feels not a shred of shame toward his hometown parents.
  • 。
    Tā wú kuì yú zhè ge chēng hào.
    He is worthy of this title.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

无wúno/lack
愧kuìshame

无 means no or lack, and 愧 means shame, giving a clear conscience.

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 →

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