King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Chinese symbol for “ashamed”

惭愧
cán kuì
Traditional: 慚愧
ashamed

The closest CC-CEDICT match for ashamed is 惭愧 (cán kuì), defined as: ashamed.

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Characters and stroke order

惭 cán
ashamed, humiliated; shameful
radical 61 ⼼ · 11 strokes
愧 kuì
ashamed, regretful; the pangs of conscience
radical 61 ⼼ · 12 strokes

Traditional forms

Other Chinese words for “ashamed”

WordPinyinMeaning
羞愧xiū kuìashamed
愧kuìashamed
没脸 (沒臉)méi liǎnashamed; embarrassed
惭 (慚)cánashamed
怍zuòashamed

Related words

Other words that share a character with 惭愧.

WordPinyinMeaning
大言不惭 (大言不慚)dà yán bù cánto boast shamelessly; to talk big
自惭形秽 (自慚形穢)zì cán xíng huì(idiom) to feel inferior; to feel inadequate
羞惭 (羞慚)xiū cána disgrace; ashamed
羞愧xiū kuìashamed
不愧bù kuìto be worthy of; to deserve to be called
当之无愧 (當之無愧)dāng zhī wú kuìfully deserving, without any reservations (idiom); entirely worthy (of a title, honor etc)
愧疚kuì jiùto feel guilty; to feel ashamed of oneself; to be remorseful
无愧 (無愧)wú kuìto have a clear conscience; to feel no qualms; to be worthy of (sth)

See also: Japanese symbol for “ashamed”.

Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

Last posts

  1. Using a Tsuba on Your Bokken for Partner Practice
  2. How Much Should You Spend on a Wooden Practice Sword
  3. How Long Should a Bokken Be for Your Height
  4. Red Oak vs White Oak for Bokken Which Wood Wins
  5. Best Bokken for Beginners: Choosing Your First Training Sword
  6. Best Escrima Sticks for Students Choosing Your First Pair
  7. Essential Accessories for Your First Pair of Escrima Sticks
  8. Best Escrima Sticks for Your First Seminar
  9. Best Canes for Cane-Fu and Hapkido Training
  10. Which Rattan Sticks Have the Most Nodes for Durability