耻 meaning and stroke order
Shame, humiliation; ashamed
How to write 耻, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 耻
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) shame; humiliation; disgrace
How 耻 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Ear.
耳 gives the meaning and 止 hints at the sound.
Radical: 耳 (ear), shared by 34 characters on this site.
How to remember 耻
耻 is built from 耳 (ěr, ear) and 止 (zhǐ, stop), which hints at the sound chǐ. Picture your ears burning red with shame, and you want the gossip to stop.
耻 is a bound form, so it almost always appears inside words like 耻辱 (chǐrǔ), 可耻 (kěchǐ) and 无耻 (wúchǐ) rather than on its own. It shows up in fairly strong moral judgments and in written or formal speech. Example: 说谎是可耻的。(Shuōhuǎng shì kěchǐ de.) Lying is shameful.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as 上 or 正 instead of 止. Also, pronounce it chǐ with the retroflex ch and third tone, not cí or zhǐ like its phonetic part 止.
Common words with 耻
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 耻辱 | chǐrǔ | disgrace; shame | HSK 7-9 |
| 可耻 | kěchǐ | shameful; disgraceful | HSK 7-9 |
| 耻笑 | chǐxiào | to sneer at sb; to ridicule | HSK 7-9 |
| 不耻下问 | bùchǐ-xiàwèn | not feel ashamed to ask and learn from one's subordinates | HSK 7-9 |
| 羞耻 | xiūchǐ | (a feeling of) shame | |
| 无耻 | wúchǐ | without any sense of shame; unembarrassed | |
| 厚颜无耻 | hòuyánwúchǐ | shameless | |
| 不知羞耻 | bùzhīxiūchǐ | to have no sense of shame; brazen |
耻 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 耻
How many strokes are in 耻?
耻 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 耻 mean?
耻 (chǐ) means shame, humiliation; ashamed. A common word with it is 耻辱 (chǐrǔ), meaning "disgrace; shame".
How do you pronounce 耻?
耻 is pronounced chǐ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 耻?
The radical of 耻 is 耳, which carries the idea of "ear". Dictionaries list 耻 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 耻?
The traditional form of 耻 is 恥. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 耻 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 耻 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 耻 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 羞耻 and 无耻?
羞耻 (xiūchǐ) means a feeling of shame, which is often seen as healthy. 无耻 (wúchǐ) means having no shame at all and is a harsh insult for someone shameless.
What does 不耻下问 mean and when is it used?
不耻下问 (bùchǐ-xiàwèn) means not feeling ashamed to ask questions of people with lower status or less knowledge. It is used as praise for someone humble and eager to learn.