惭愧

• Pinyin: cán kuì
• Hanzi breakdown: 惭 = 忄(heart radical) + 斩 (to chop, phonetic — shame that cuts); 愧 = 忄(heart radical) + 鬼 (ghost, phonetic — an unsettling presence in the heart)

Meaning

Ashamed; feeling guilty or embarrassed by one's own shortcomings, failures, or behavior. A sincere sense of inner moral discomfort due to having fallen short of one's own or others' expectations.

More introspective and genuinely remorseful than 不好意思 (polite surface embarrassment). 惭愧 implies real moral regret — having wronged someone, failed a responsibility, or fallen short of a standard one holds dear. Frequently used in formal apologies, self-reflective writing, acceptance speeches, and statements of modesty. In classical Chinese, it is a standard expression of humility.

Examples

1. 听说公司为了保住他的职位而牺牲了其他同事，他心里深感惭愧，久久难以释怀。 When he heard that the company had sacrificed other colleagues to keep his position, he felt deeply ashamed and couldn't shake the feeling for a long time.
2. 老教授在颁奖典礼上动情地说，自己其实还差得很远，这份荣誉让他倍感惭愧。 At the award ceremony, the senior professor said with emotion that he still had a very long way to go and felt genuinely humbled by this honor.
3. 她为当年那个草率的决定感到惭愧，但时间无法倒流，只能向前看，努力弥补。 She feels ashamed of the hasty decision she made back then, but time cannot be reversed — she can only look forward and try to make amends.

Usage Guide

Context: emotion, social, apology, self-reflection, humility

Tone: sincere

Do Say

• 我真的很惭愧，辜负了大家对我的期望。(I'm truly ashamed — I've failed to live up to everyone's expectations of me.)
• 他谦逊地说自己实在惭愧，还有很多地方需要向前辈们学习。(He said humbly that he was genuinely embarrassed and still had much to learn from his seniors.)

Don't Say

• 我对这道菜感到惭愧。(惭愧 is about moral shame over one's actions or abilities — use 做得不太好意思端出来 for food that didn't turn out well)

Origin & History

惭 (ashamed; 忄heart radical + 斩 phonetic, suggesting shame cutting at the heart) + 愧 (ashamed/guilty; 忄heart + 鬼 ghost/phonetic — something ghostly and unsettling lurking in the heart). Both characters carry shame at the heart level.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal