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难为情 (nán wéi qíng) — embarrassed, ashamed, shy

Definition

A softer, more polite feeling of embarrassment — being 'shy' or 'sheepish' about something, not the stronger moral shame of 羞愧/羞耻. Lighter than 尴尬 (which describes the awkward situation) and gentler than 害羞 (a personality trait).

adjective
embarrassedashamedshy

Examples

  • ，难为情。
    Tā shōu dào nà me guì zhòng de lǐ wù, jué de hěn nán wéi qíng.
    She felt embarrassed upon receiving such an expensive gift.
  • ，难为情。
    Zài dà jiā miàn qián chàng gē chàng cuò le, tā fēi cháng nán wéi qíng.
    He was very embarrassed after singing the wrong notes in front of everyone.
  • ，难为情。
    Bié ràng wǒ zuò nà zhǒng shì, wǒ huì jué de nán wéi qíng de.
    Don't ask me to do that kind of thing; I'd feel embarrassed.

Origin

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 難; 难 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
暵
暵hàn難nán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional 難 pairs 隹, a bird, with 暵 for sound, and meant a type of bird. It was later borrowed for other meanings; the modern 难 is a shorthand.

Open 难 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 為; 为 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 為 showed a hand holding an elephant; the simplified 为 is a later shorthand.

Open 为 →

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
青
青qīng情qíng
Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.

Open 情 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Emotions & Feelings

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.