Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Ashamed and humiliated: A state of feeling deep personal distress, sorrow, or wounded pride combined with a sense of being degraded, dishonored, or made to feel inferior.
   • Feeling self-pity and humiliation: A complex emotion involving sorrow for oneself due to perceived unfair treatment, accompanied by a painful loss of dignity or respect.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Nghe những lời chê bai, cô ấy cảm thấy rất tủi nhục. (Hearing the criticism, she felt deeply ashamed and humiliated.)
  • Khuôn mặt anh ấy lộ rõ vẻ tủi nhục. (His face clearly showed a look of humiliated shame.)
  • Cảm giác tủi nhục khiến cậu bé bật khóc. (The feeling of shameful humiliation made the boy burst into tears.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "tủi nhục" is a compound adjective formed from "tủi" (to feel sorrowful/self-pity over one's plight) and "nhục" (humiliation, disgrace). It describes a more profound and enduring emotional state than momentary embarrassment.
• It is often used to describe the psychological impact of injustice, poverty, betrayal, or public scorn on an individual's dignity.

Variants and Related Words

• Tủi thân (adj): Feeling sorrowful and sorry for oneself, often due to loneliness or perceived neglect. It focuses more on self-pity than on humiliation.
  • Một mình ở nước ngoài, đôi lúc cô ấy thấy tủi thân. (Alone abroad, she sometimes feels sorry for herself.)
• Nhục nhã (adj): Humiliating, disgraceful, shameful. It emphasizes the objective disgrace or dishonor more than the internal sorrowful feeling.
  • Đó là một thất bại nhục nhã. (That was a humiliating defeat.)

Synonyms

• Humiliated: Made to feel ashamed and foolish.
• Mortified: Deeply embarrassed or ashamed.
• Degraded: Treated with contempt; stripped of dignity.

Related Idioms

• Tủi phận: To lament or feel sorrowful about one's (often lowly) lot in life.
  • Bà ấy chỉ biết tủi phận vì nghèo khó. (She could only lament her fate because of poverty.)
• Nuốt nhục: To swallow humiliation; to endure an insult or disgrace silently.
  • Để giữ việc, anh ta đành phải nuốt nhục. (To keep his job, he had no choice but to swallow the humiliation.)