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见不得人 (jiàn bu de rén) — too shameful to be seen in public; unpresentable; disgraceful

Definition

A descriptive phrase meaning 'too shameful to be shown in public' — used to judge a person's acts or deeds, not the person themselves. Often modifies a noun (∼的勾当) or follows 太 / 更.

verb
too shameful to be seen in publicunpresentabledisgraceful

Examples

  • 见不得人。
    Tā zuò de nà xiē shì tài jiàn bu de rén le.
    The things he did are too shameful to be seen in public.
  • 见不得人。
    Wǒ men dōu zhī dào zhè shì jiàn bu de rén de gòu dàng.
    We all know this is a shameful business.
  • ，见不得人。
    Rú guǒ jì xù zhè yàng, nǐ zhī huì gèng jiā jiàn bu de rén.
    If you continue like this, you will only become more unpresentable.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 見; 见 is its simplified writing.

  • 目目mùeye
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The traditional form 見 pairs 目 (eye) with 卩 (kneeling person), showing a kneeling figure with a large eye for a head. The simplified 见 is a later shorthand.

Open 见 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

Open 得 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
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