TongTong
Sign in

屈辱 (qū rǔ) — humiliated; disgraced; humiliation; disgrace

Definition

Both an adjective ('humiliated, disgraced') and a noun ('humiliation, disgrace') describing a deep loss of dignity or honor. The 辱 character specifically marks the humiliating nature of the experience — stronger than general insult.

adjective
humiliateddisgracedhumiliationdisgrace

Examples

  • 屈辱。
    Tā gǎn dào shí fēn qū rǔ.
    He felt deeply humiliated.
  • 屈辱。
    Zhè duàn lì shǐ shì guó jiā de qū rǔ.
    This period of history is a national disgrace.
  • 屈辱。
    Bú yào zài yòng nà zhǒng qū rǔ de yǔ qì shuō huà.
    Don't speak in that humiliating tone anymore.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

屈qūwronged
辱rǔshame

屈 (wronged) and 辱 (shame) together mean humiliation.

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
尾尾wěitail
Sound part声符shēngfú
出
出chū屈qū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

屈 was built from 出 for sound and 尾 for tail; the tail part later changed into the top of 屈.

Open 屈 →

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 & Feelings

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