How to Write 恧 (nǜ) — Meaning “ashamed”

Imagine the top part 而 looks like a person's head hanging down in shame, while the bottom 心 is the heart feeling sad. Visualize a person with their head lowered (而) because their heart (心) is full of shame.

Start with the top component 而, making sure to write the horizontal strokes evenly spaced and not too long. The bottom 心 (heart radical) should be slightly wider than the top, with the middle dot placed carefully to balance the character. A common mistake is making the 心 too small or off-center.

恧 (nǜ) means 'ashamed', while 忝 (tiǎn) means 'to shame' or is used humbly (e.g., 忝列, 'to be unworthy'). 忞 (mín/mín) means 'to force' or 'strenuous', and is very rare. Visually, 恧 has 而 on top, 忝 has 天 on top, and 忞 has 文 on top—all have the 心 bottom.

恧 is a classical or literary character, rarely used in everyday conversation. You might find it in fixed expressions like 愧恧 (kuì nǜ, deeply ashamed) or 恧然 (nǜ rán, feeling ashamed). It carries a formal, somewhat poetic tone and is used to express deep moral shame.

Common words containing 恧 include: 愧恧 (kuì nǜ) — Ashamed; bashful.; 恧然 (nǜ rán) — feeling ashamed; 莫恧 (mò nǜ) — do not be ashamed.