Chinese word

难堪

Pronunciation

Pinyinnán kān

Meaning

  • adjectiveembarrassed

Example

被抓到说谎后，他感到很难堪。bèi zhuā dào shuō huǎng hòu tā gǎn dào hěn nán kān

After he was caught lying, he felt very embarrassed.

Illustration for 难堪 (embarrassed)

More examples

当他被问到私事时，脸色显得有些难堪。dāng tā bèi wèn dào sī shì shí liǎn sè xiǎn de yǒu xiē nán kān

When he was asked about his private life, his expression looked a little embarrassed.

Core concept

A person exposed by a mistake or difficult situation feels unable to behave naturally in front of others.

Common phrases

  • 显得难堪xiǎn de nán kān

    look embarrassed

  • 表情难堪biǎo qíng nán kān

    embarrassed expression

Similar words

尴尬gān gà: Feeling awkward and unable to relax when the situation or atmosphere becomes strained.
不好意思bù hǎo yì si: Feeling shy, embarrassed, or sorry because of reluctance or a sense of inconvenience.
惭愧cán kuì: Feeling ashamed of one's own behavior and troubled by inner self-blame.
羞愧xiū kuì: Feeling painful shame that may bring a red face and inner distress.

Definition in Chinese

因言行或处境令人尴尬而觉得局促、不自在，产生难以在对方面前自然表现的感觉。yīn yán xíng huò chǔ jìng lìng rén gān gà ér jué de jú cù bú zì zài chǎn shēng nán yǐ zài duì fāng miàn qián zì rán biǎo xiàn de gǎn jué

Word origin

难堪 (nánkān, "hard to bear") combines 难 (nán, "difficult") + 堪 (kān, "to endure"), framing social exposure as something a person cannot easily endure.

Usage tips

  • The word often carries a stronger sense of lost face than ordinary discomfort, which makes it useful when a public mistake changes how a person feels before others.

Other meanings

  • awkwardadjective
  • uncomfortableadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word