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不好意思

Mandarin · pinyin bù hǎo yì si

to feel embarrassed
to find it embarrassing
to be sorry (for inconveniencing sb)

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
好: hǎo · good, excellent, fine; well
意: yì · thought, idea, opinion; think
思: sī · think, consider, ponder; final particle

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–3–4–5 · bu4 hao3 yi4 si5

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 hou2 ji3 si3

Cantonese word readings for 不好意思. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

adj

embarrassed; shy; ill at ease
too embarrassed or shy to do something

intj

sorry; excuse me

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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