Chinese word

愧疚

Pronunciation

Pinyinkuì jiù

Meaning

  • adjectiveguilty

Example

我因为忘记答复她而感到愧疚。wǒ yīn wèi wàng jì dá fù tā ér gǎn dào kuì jiù

I feel guilty for forgetting to reply to her.

Illustration for 愧疚 (guilty)

More examples

他把孩子的玩具弄坏后感到愧疚。tā bǎ hái zi de wán jù nòng huài hòu gǎn dào kuì jiù

After breaking his child's toy, he felt guilty.

Core concept

An inward burden of shame and regret over a personal wrong or neglected responsibility.

Common phrases

  • 感到愧疚gǎn dào kuì jiù

    feel guilty

  • 对孩子感到愧疚duì hái zi gǎn dào kuì jiù

    feel guilty toward the child

  • 为自己的行为感到愧疚wèi zì jǐ de xíng wéi gǎn dào kuì jiù

    feel guilty about one's actions

Similar words

内疚nèi jiù: Feeling remorseful and heavy-hearted about a mistake or action that caused harm.
惭愧cán kuì: Feeling ashamed of one's own behavior, especially when it seems embarrassing in others' eyes.
抱歉bào qiàn: Feeling sorry for causing someone trouble or inconvenience, often as a polite apology.

Definition in Chinese

对自己有过失或未尽到责任而感到羞愧和自责。duì zì jǐ yǒu guò shī huò wèi jǐn dào zé rèn ér gǎn dào xiū kuì hé zì zé

Word origin

愧疚 (kuìjiù, "guilt and remorse") is a meaning-based compound of 愧 (kuì, "shame at one's fault") and 疚 (jiù, "inner distress"), so its form links moral fault with lasting pain.

Usage tips

  • The word fits situations such as failing to reply or letting someone down, especially when the speaker sees the failure as a personal responsibility rather than a simple accident.

Other meanings

  • remorsefuladjective
  • sorryadjective

Opposites

  • 无愧wú kuìfree of guiltadjective

Related words

  • 愧疚感kuì jiù gǎnguiltnoun

Word lists with this word