愧对 (kuì duì) — to feel ashamed before (someone); to let (someone) down

Definition

愧对 is a formal verb meaning to feel you have failed or let down someone who trusted you — often paired with 信任, 期望 or 帮助. Not a general 'sorry'; the shame is specifically toward the other person.

verb
to feel ashamed before (someone)to let (someone) down

Examples

  • 愧对。
    Wǒ kuì duì fù mǔ de qī wàng.
    I let down my parents' expectations.
  • 愧对。
    Tā jué de zì jǐ kuì duì lǎo shī de xìn rèn.
    He feels he has failed the teacher's trust.
  • 愧对。
    Tā kuì duì péng you de bāng zhù.
    She feels ashamed before her friend's help.

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.

愧kuìashamed
对duìface

愧 (ashamed) and 对 (face) combine to mean feel ashamed before someone.

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
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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →

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