Meaning of 谦虚
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- modest
- self-effacing
- to make modest remarks
How to use 谦虚
谦虚 describes a person or attitude that does not show off, and it is often used as praise or advice. It also appears as a verb when someone politely downplays a compliment. Example: 他很有能力，但是很谦虚。(Tā hěn yǒu nénglì, dànshì hěn qiānxū.) He is very capable, but very modest.
谦 (qiān) has the speech radical 讠, so think of humble words, and 虚 (xū) means empty. A modest person speaks humbly and acts as if their cup is still empty, with room to learn.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 谦虚 with 虚心 (xūxīn). 谦虚 is about not bragging about yourself. 虚心 is about being open to learning from others, as in 虚心学习 (xūxīn xuéxí), not 谦虚学习. Also note that 虚 alone often has negative meanings like false or weak, as in 虚伪 (xūwěi), so do not assume every 虚 word is a compliment.
谦虚 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
谦 qiān · humble · 12 strokes
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虚 xū · emptiness · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 谦虚.
| 虚心 | xūxīn | open-minded; humble |
| 虚弱 | xūruò | weak; in poor health |
| 空虚 | kōngxū | hollow; emptiness |
| 虚构 | xūgòu | to make up; fabrication |
| 虚伪 | xūwěi | false; hypocritical |
| 虚假 | xūjiǎ | false; phony; sham |
| 虚拟 | xūnǐ | to imagine; to make up; fictitious; theoretical; hypothetical |
| 虚幻 | xūhuàn | imaginary; illusory |
| 谦逊 | qiānxùn | humble; modest |
| 弄虚作假 | nòngxū-zuòjiǎ | to practice fraud (idiom); by trickery |
| 虚无 | xūwú | nothingness |
| 虚张声势 | xūzhāngshēngshì | (idiom) to bluff; to bluster; to make an empty show of strength |
Questions about 谦虚
What does 谦虚 mean?
谦虚 (qiānxū) means "modest; self-effacing" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 谦虚?
谦虚 is made of 2 characters: 谦 (12 strokes), 虚 (11 strokes). That is 23 strokes in total.
Is 谦虚 an HSK word?
Yes. 谦虚 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 谦虚 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 谦虚 is written 謙虛.
How do I respond when someone says 你太谦虚了?
你太谦虚了 (nǐ tài qiānxū le) means "You are too modest," and people say it after you downplay a compliment. You can simply smile and say 哪里哪里 (nǎlǐ nǎlǐ) or 真的没有 (zhēn de méiyǒu), which keeps the polite modesty going.
What is the opposite of 谦虚?
A common opposite is 骄傲 (jiāo'ào), which here means arrogant or conceited. A well known saying puts them together: 谦虚使人进步，骄傲使人落后 (Qiānxū shǐ rén jìnbù, jiāo'ào shǐ rén luòhòu), meaning modesty helps people progress and arrogance makes them fall behind.