羞怯 (xiū qiè) — shy, timid, sheepish

Definition

verb
shytimidsheepish

Examples

  • 羞怯。
    Tā zài mò shēng rén miàn qián zǒng shì hěn xiū qiè.
    She is always very shy in front of strangers.
  • 羞怯,。
    Tā xiū qiè dì dī xià le tóu, bù gǎn shuō huà.
    He sheepishly lowered his head and didn't dare to speak.
  • 羞怯。
    Zhè zhǒng xiū qiè de xìng gé ràng tā hěn nán jiāo dào péng you.
    This timid personality makes it hard for her to make friends.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

羞 means shy and 怯 means timid, so the word describes being bashful.

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
丑
丑chǒu羞xiū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

羞 is built from 羊, a sheep, as the meaning part, and 丑 for the sound.

Open 羞 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 怯 →

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