耻 chǐ shame
shame; humiliation; ashamed
怎么记住“耻”: 耳 ear + 止 stop = shame. When the teacher reads his love letter aloud, the boy's ears burn red and he begs her to stop, wishing he could hide his shame.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
originally 耳 + 心
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
耻 = 耳 ear + 止 stop
- 耳 ear sound
- 止 stop shape only
When the teacher reads his love letter aloud, the boy's ears burn red and he begs her to stop, wishing he could hide his shame.
How it came to be
This form is a miswritten version of the full form, in which the ear gives the sound and the heart, now gone, gave the meaning.
用法
- The core word for shame/disgrace: 羞耻 (xiūchǐ) shame, 耻辱 (chǐrǔ) humiliation, 可耻 (kěchǐ) shameful, 无耻 (wúchǐ) shameless.
- As a verb "to feel ashamed of" in 不耻下问 (bùchǐ-xiàwèn) to not be ashamed to ask those below you, note the trap: 不齿 (bùchǐ, with 齿) means to despise, a different character with a near-identical sound.