害羞 hàixiū — shy, bashful
hàixiū (fourth tone, falling)hai4xiu1
shy, bashful
HSK 4· HSK 1–4 (classic)adjective
Meanings
shy, bashful
害 to fear and 羞 to feel ashamed, joined into a single trait: the shrinking a person does in front of people they do not know well. It covers the child hiding behind a parent and the adult caught off guard by a compliment alike.
adjective
Example sentences
- 她有点儿害羞，不敢跟不认识的人说话。她有點兒害羞，不敢跟不認識的人說話。Tā (first tone, high and level) yǒudiǎnr (third tone, dipping) hàixiū, (fourth tone, falling) bù (fourth tone, falling) gǎn (third tone, dipping) gēn (first tone, high and level) bú (second tone, rising) rènshi (fourth tone, falling) de (neutral tone) rén (second tone, rising) shuōhuà. (first tone, high and level)···
She’s a bit shy — she doesn’t dare talk to people she doesn’t know.
- 你别害羞，有问题就问老师。你別害羞，有問題就問老師。Nǐ (third tone, dipping) bié (second tone, rising) hàixiū, (fourth tone, falling) yǒu (third tone, dipping) wèntí (fourth tone, falling) jiù (fourth tone, falling) wèn (fourth tone, falling) lǎoshī. (third tone, dipping)···
Don’t be shy — if you have a question, just ask the teacher.
Common mistakes
Not quite她很害怕，不敢跟男孩子说话。
Correct她很害羞，不敢跟男孩子说话。
害怕 is fear of a danger — a dog, the dark, an exam. 害羞 is the shrinking of shyness — meeting people, being looked at. A shy girl fears no one; swap the words and the sentence accidentally gives her a phobia.