Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Ashamed; feeling shame: A state of painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety in one's own actions or character.
   • Shameful; disgraceful: Deserving or causing a feeling of shame; bringing disgrace.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Tôi cảm thấy rất hổ thẹn vì hành động của mình. (I feel deeply ashamed of my actions.)
  • Đó là một hành vi hổ thẹn không thể chấp nhận được. (That is a shameful and unacceptable behavior.)
  • Anh ấy hổ thẹn vì đã không giữ lời hứa. (He is ashamed for not keeping his promise.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "hổ thẹn" often implies a deep, moral shame related to one's conscience or honor, rather than a simple embarrassment. It is a strong term.
• It can be used reflexively ( - to feel ashamed of oneself) or directed towards an entity (e.g., - ashamed before one's ancestors).

Variants and Related Words

• Xấu hổ (adj): ashamed, embarrassed. This is a more common and slightly less intense synonym.
  • Cô ấy xấu hổ khi bị phát hiện. (She was embarrassed when she was caught.)
• Hổ ngươi (adj): a literary synonym for feeling ashamed or bashful.

Synonyms

• Ashamed: affected by shame.
• Shamefaced: showing shame.
• Mortified: deeply embarrassed or ashamed.
• Disgraceful: shockingly unacceptable.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Hổ thẹn với lương tâm: to be ashamed in one's conscience.
  • Anh ta không hề hổ thẹn với lương tâm. (He feels no shame in his conscience.)
• Mặt dày không biết hổ thẹn: to be thick-skinned and feel no shame; shameless.
  • Hắn là kẻ mặt dày không biết hổ thẹn. (He is a shameless, thick-skinned person.)

adj

1. shameful; ashamed
   • điều hổ thẹn
     shame