丑闻

• Pinyin: chǒu wén
• Hanzi breakdown: 丑 = ugly/shameful; 闻 = 门 (gate) + 耳 (ear) = news/to hear

Meaning

Scandal; disgraceful incident; shameful affair.

Refers to publicly exposed misconduct that damages reputation. Common in political, business, and celebrity contexts. Often appears in news headlines.

Examples

1. 这位政客因贪腐丑闻被迫辞职。 The politician was forced to resign due to a corruption scandal.
2. 公司努力平息财务丑闻带来的负面影响。 The company tried to mitigate the negative impact of the financial scandal.
3. 娱乐圈的丑闻总是能引起大众的关注。 Entertainment industry scandals always attract public attention.

Usage Guide

Context: news, politics, entertainment, business

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 水门丑闻导致美国总统尼克松下台。(The Watergate scandal led to President Nixon's resignation.)
• 这起丑闻严重损害了公司的品牌形象。(This scandal seriously damaged the company's brand image.)

Don't Say

• 我有个小丑闻 (丑闻 implies public exposure — for private embarrassments, use 糗事 or 尴尬的事)

Origin & History

Compound of 丑 (ugly/shameful) and 闻 (news/to hear). Literally 'ugly news' — reports of shameful conduct.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal