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羞辱 (xiū rǔ) — to humiliate, to put to shame

Definition

A strong verb meaning to humiliate or publicly shame someone, implying deliberate embarrassment. Unlike 侮辱 (wǔrǔ), which also covers insulting and can target a group or ideal, 羞辱 focuses on personal, face-losing humiliation.

verb
to humiliateto put to shame

Examples

  • 羞辱，。
    Tā zài zhòng rén miàn qián xiū rǔ le tā, ràng tā hěn nán kān.
    He humiliated her in front of everyone, making her very embarrassed.
  • 羞辱，。
    Méi rén yǒu quán lì xiū rǔ bié rén, wú lùn duì fāng zuò cuò le shén me.
    No one has the right to humiliate others, no matter what they did wrong.
  • 羞辱，。
    Zhè zhǒng gōng kāi de pī píng shì duì tā de xiū rǔ, ér bú shì shàn yì de zhǐ zhèng.
    This kind of public criticism is an insult to him, not well-intentioned correction.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

羞xiūshame
辱rǔinsult

羞辱 joins 羞 (shame) and 辱 (insult) to mean put to shame.

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
羊羊yáng
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.

Open 羞 →

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

辱 combines 辰, drawn as a hoe, with 寸, drawn as a hand.

Open 辱 →
Appears in
Emotions & Feelings5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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