Explore 恥 in words for shame and embarrassment. Learn each reading together with a complete word.

The idea

恥 has 10 strokes; follow the linked stroke-order diagram. 恥（はじ） is shame, 恥ずかしい（はずかしい） means embarrassed or embarrassing, and 恥じる（はじる） means to feel ashamed. In 破廉恥（はれんち）, 恥 is read ち.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
恥ずかしいはずかしいI felt embarrassed speaking in front of everyone.
恥はじThere is no shame in making a mistake.
恥じるはじるHe is ashamed of having told a lie.

Examples

  • 皆みんなの前まえで話はなすのは恥はずかしかったです。I felt embarrassed speaking in front of everyone.
  • 子供こどもは恥はずかしくて顔かおを隠かくしました。The child hid their face in embarrassment.
  • 間違まちがえることは恥はじではありません。There is no shame in making a mistake.
  • 質問しつもんするのを恥はずかしがらないでください。Please do not be afraid to ask questions.
  • 古ふるい日記にっきを人ひとに見みせるのは恥はずかしいです。I am embarrassed to show my old diary to anyone.
  • 彼かれはうそをついたことを恥はじています。He is ashamed of having told a lie.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

恥ずかしい can describe a person’s feeling or an embarrassing situation. 恥 is a noun; do not use it as an i-adjective. 破廉恥 is a stronger word for shamelessness.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 恥ずかしい in hiragana.

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    はずかしい

    恥ずかしい is はずかしい: the kana ずかしい belongs to the word.

  2. Write the reading of 恥 in hiragana.

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    はじ

    恥 alone is はじ, a noun meaning shame.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 破廉＿（はれんち）［廉／恥］.

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    恥

    恥 completes 破廉恥（はれんち）, meaning shameless or disgraceful.

Use it today

Write 恥 using the diagram, then cover the readings and make a sentence with 恥ずかしい.