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不愧 (bù kuì) — to be worthy of; to deserve to be called

Definition

An adverb used before a predicate to praise something as truly deserving a reputation, like 'truly worthy of'. Unlike 对得起 (verb, takes an object), 不愧 is set-phrase framing — "X 不愧 + 是…" or "不愧为…".

adverb
to be worthy ofto deserve to be called

Examples

  • 不愧。
    Tā bù kuì shì wèi yōu xiù de yī shēng.
    She deserves to be called an excellent doctor.
  • 不愧。
    Zhè zuò gǔ chéng bù kuì wéi shì jiè qí guān.
    This ancient city is worthy of being called a world wonder.
  • 不愧。
    Tā de chéng jiù bù kuì wéi háng yè kǎi mó.
    His achievements deserve to be called a model for the industry.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

不bùnot
愧kuìashamed

不 expresses not, and 愧 expresses ashamed, so together they mean not ashamed and therefore worthy.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Good & Bad

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