Chinese word

辜负

Pronunciation

Pinyingū fù

Meaning

  • verbdisappoint

Example

我不想辜负你的期待。wǒ bù xiǎng gū fù nǐ de qī dài

I don't want to disappoint you.

Illustration for 辜负 (disappoint)

More examples

年轻人不应该辜负父母的期望。nián qīng rén bù yīng gāi gū fù fù mǔ de qī wàng

Young people should not fail to live up to their parents' expectations.

Core concept

Fails to live up to something valuable that another person has placed in one's care, making that person feel let down.

Common phrases

  • 辜负你的期待gū fù nǐ de qī dài

    fail to live up to your expectations

  • 辜负父母gū fù fù mǔ

    let your parents down

  • 辜负自己gū fù zì jǐ

    let yourself down

Similar words

失望shī wàng: Become disappointed when hopes or expectations are not met.
错过cuò guò: Miss an opportunity or time and lose what could have been gained.
欺骗qī piàn: Deceive someone by falsifying facts.

Definition in Chinese

辜负他人的期望、信任或好意，未能回报或履行，使对方感到失望gū fù tā rén de qī wàng xìn rèn huò hǎo yì wèi néng huí bào huò lǚ xíng shǐ duì fāng gǎn dào shī wàng

Word origin

辜负 (gūfù, "fail to live up to") is formed from 辜 (gū, "fault") and 负 (fù, "carry"), linking failure with not carrying an expected responsibility.

Usage tips

  • English speakers may use "disappoint" for many minor outcomes, but this Chinese verb commonly highlights the speaker's responsibility toward the person who placed confidence or hope in them.

Other meanings

  • betrayverb
  • waste someone's goodwillverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word