耻 (chǐ) — shame, disgrace, humiliation (bound morpheme)

Definition

Bound morpheme meaning 'shame' — appears almost only in set compounds such as 可耻, 羞耻, 无耻. By itself it is not used as a standalone word.

bound form

shamedisgracehumiliation (bound morpheme)

。
Tā de xíng wéi ràng rén gǎn dào xiū chǐ.
His behavior makes people feel shame.
。
Shuō huǎng shì yí jiàn kě chǐ de shì qing.
Lying is a shameful thing.
。
Tā zhēn shì gè wú chǐ zhī tú.
He is truly a shameless person.

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

耳止耻

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

止

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

耻 is written with 耳 (ear) on the left and 止 on the right. Here 止 gives the sound, while 耳 is the meaning part.

Appears in