rikAI
Join the waitlist
JLPT N4い-adjectiveUpdated

恥ずかしい（はずかしい） hazukashii meaning

恥ずかしい (hazukashii) means “embarrassed,” “ashamed,” or “embarrassing.” It can name the feeling or what causes it. 恥ずかしがる describes someone showing embarrassment. 照れる often points to shy self-consciousness, while 恥ずかしい can also carry a stronger sense of shame.

also hazukashikatta / hazukashigaru / hazukashinagara

embarrassed · embarrassing · ashamed · shy

Sentences

6 sentences, word by word

恥ずかしい · about yourself

plain

。

Hover, tap, or tab through the words.

人前

ひとまえ ［0］

in front of people

noun · 人前で in public, 人前に出る to appear before others

Ask Rikai

で

で

in; at — where it happens

particle · where the action happens, or the manner it happens in

Ask Rikai

話す

はなす ［2］

speaking

verb · 話す to speak, 話 はなし the talk itself

Ask Rikai

の

の

the act of — nominaliser

particle · makes 話す a noun so が can mark it

Ask Rikai

が

が

marks the subject

particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object

Ask Rikai

恥ずかしい

はずかしい ［4］

embarrassing to me

い-adjective · here the feeling is the speaker's, and が marks its cause

恥ずかしいN4embarrassed; embarrassing

Ask Rikai

Speaking in front of people embarrasses me.

恥ずかしかった · the past

plain

、。

Hover, tap, or tab through the words.

名前

なまえ ［0］

name

noun · 名前を呼ぶ to call somebody's name, お名前 politely

Ask Rikai

を

を

marks the direct object

particle · pronounced お

Ask Rikai

間違えて

まちがえて

got it wrong, and

て-form of 間違える · the transitive one, you made the error

Ask Rikai

恥ずかしかった

はずかしかった

was embarrassing

plain past · い-adjectives change their own ending, so never 恥ずかしいでした

恥ずかしいN4embarrassed; embarrassing

Ask Rikai

I got their name wrong, and it was mortifying.

恥ずかしくて · so much so that

plain

。

Hover, tap, or tab through the words.

恥ずかしくて

はずかしくて

so embarrassed that

て-form of an い-adjective · gives the cause of what follows

恥ずかしいN4embarrassed; embarrassing

Ask Rikai

顔

かお ［0］

face

noun · 顔が赤くなる to blush, 顔を出す to show up somewhere

Ask Rikai

が

が

marks the subject

particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object

Ask Rikai

赤く

あかく

red

adverbial form of 赤い · い becomes く in front of なる

Ask Rikai

なった

なった

became

plain past of なる · the change happened and is done

Ask Rikai

I was so embarrassed my face went red.

恥ずかしい ＋ Noun · about the thing

plain

。

Hover, tap, or tab through the words.

それ

それ ［1］

that

pronoun · the thing near the listener, or the thing just mentioned

Ask Rikai

は

は

as for — the topic

particle · written は, read わ

Ask Rikai

恥ずかしい

はずかしい ［4］

embarrassing

い-adjectives attach straight to the noun · no の and no な

恥ずかしいN4embarrassed; embarrassing

Ask Rikai

間違い

まちがい ［3］

mistake

noun from 間違う · 間違いない there is no doubt, 計算間違い a miscalculation

Ask Rikai

だった

だった

was

plain past of だ · でした in polite speech

Ask Rikai

That was an embarrassing mistake.

恥ずかしがり屋 · somebody else's disposition

plain

。

Hover, tap, or tab through the words.

妹

いもうと ［4］

little sister

noun · your own younger sister; somebody else's is 妹さん

Ask Rikai

は

は

as for — the topic

particle · written は, read わ

Ask Rikai

恥ずかしがり屋

はずかしがりや ［0］

a shy one

恥ずかしがる ＋ 屋 · 屋 names the type of person, as in 寂しがり屋

恥ずかしいN4embarrassed; embarrassing

Ask Rikai

だ

だ

is

plain copula · です in polite speech

Ask Rikai

My little sister is the shy type.

恥ずかしながら · the formal admission

polite

、。

Hover, tap, or tab through the words.

恥ずかしながら

はずかしながら

I am ashamed to say

set phrase · opens an admission in writing and formal speech

恥ずかしいN4embarrassed; embarrassing

Ask Rikai

まだ

まだ

still; not yet

adverb · with a negative it means not yet, with a positive it means still

Ask Rikai

知りませんでした

しりませんでした

did not know

polite past negative of 知る · the state of not knowing, not an action

Ask Rikai

I am ashamed to say I still didn't know.

Forms

What forms does 恥ずかしい take?

Noun ＋ は/が＋恥ずかしい

Both readings are live: 私は恥ずかしい, I feel embarrassed, and その質問は恥ずかしい, that question is embarrassing. Context decides.

恥ずかしい＋Noun

恥ずかしい間違い, 恥ずかしい話. い-adjectives attach directly — no の, no な.

恥ずかし＋かった / くて / くない

The adjective inflects, not the copula: 恥ずかしかった was, 恥ずかしくて so much so that, 恥ずかしくない not at all. Polite past 恥ずかしかったです.

Person は＋恥ずかしがる

For somebody else's feeling. Also 恥ずかしそう, looks embarrassed, and 恥ずかしがり屋, a shy person by disposition.

Meaning

恥ずかしい vs 照れる vs 気まずい — which kind of embarrassed?

恥ずかしい points both ways, which makes it unusual. 私は恥ずかしい is I feel embarrassed; その間違いは恥ずかしい is that mistake is embarrassing. Compare つまらない, which describes a person or thing as boring — 私はつまらない means you are a boring person. With 恥ずかしい you get both readings for free, and the topic tells the listener which one you mean.

照れる is the warm kind, and it is a verb. It is what happens when somebody praises you, teases you, or brings up your partner: 照れるなあ, oh stop it. Nobody has done anything wrong, and there is affection in it. The adjective is 照れくさい, and a person who does it easily is a 照れ屋. Where 恥ずかしい can accuse, 照れる never does.

気まずい is not a feeling inside one person — it is the air between two. A silence after the wrong remark, running into somebody you argued with: 気まずい空気, an awkward atmosphere. You can be 恥ずかしい alone in a room; 気まずい takes at least two people. The near-synonym きまり悪い sits between the two, an awkwardness that is mildly your own fault.

Underneath the everyday use there is a much heavier word. 恥 on its own is shame, and 恥をかく is to be humiliated in front of other people — not a blush, a loss of face. 恥ずかしながら opens a formal admission, 情けない is the self-disgust version, and 恥知らず, shameless, is an insult. Knowing the floor of the word is what keeps you from calling somebody's mistake 恥ずかしい to their face and meaning it lightly.

Inside the word

恥 ＋ ずかしい — where the meaning comes from

恥 — はじ · shame

耳, an ear, beside 心, the heart. The traditional reading of the shape is the heart showing in the ears, which redden first. On its own 恥 is shame in the serious sense: 恥をかく to be humiliated, 恥じる to feel shame, 恥知らず shameless, and 無恥 in the set phrase 厚顔無恥, brazen-faced.

〜がる — the suffix for other people's feelings

Japanese does not let you assert what somebody else feels, so feeling adjectives take がる to become verbs of observed behaviour: 恥ずかしがる to act embarrassed, 寂しがる, 欲しがる to want something — you can say the last of a child but not of yourself. Add 屋 and it becomes a personality: 恥ずかしがり屋, 寂しがり屋, 怖がり.

恥ずかしい — はずかしい · three registers of one word

The accent drops after し. In casual young speech the word contracts to はずい, which is slang and stays out of writing. At the other end, 恥ずかしながら opens a formal admission and お恥ずかしい限りです is the business-letter version. Same word, and the register is doing most of the work.

Watch out

Where 恥ずかしい goes wrong

Stating somebody else's feeling flatly

彼は恥ずかしいです reads as he is embarrassing, not he feels embarrassed — Japanese will not let you assert another person's insides. Use the observed forms: 恥ずかしがっている, 恥ずかしそうだ, or 恥ずかしいらしい.

恥ずかしいでした

い-adjectives carry their own past tense, so the ending changes rather than the copula: 恥ずかしかった, politely 恥ずかしかったです. The same rule gives 恥ずかしくない and 恥ずかしくなかった.

Calling somebody's mistake 恥ずかしい

To their face it does not read as oh, how embarrassing — it reads as that was shameful, because the word sits on 恥. If you mean the light thing, put it on yourself (私もよくやります) or use 照れる for the warm kind.

Also asked

Questions people ask about 恥ずかしい

What does 恥ずかしい (hazukashii) mean?

Embarrassed, embarrassing, ashamed or shy, depending on the sentence. It is an い-adjective, and like 怖い and 悲しい it works for both the feeling and its cause: 私は恥ずかしい I feel embarrassed, 恥ずかしい間違い an embarrassing mistake.

Does 恥ずかしい mean “I'm embarrassed” or “this is embarrassing”?

Both, and the topic decides. Whatever は or が marks is what the adjective is about — その質問は恥ずかしい is about the question, 人前で話すのが恥ずかしい is about how you feel. This is what separates it from つまらない, which evaluates a person or thing rather than expressing your bored state.

恥ずかしい or 照れる — which one do I want?

照れる if it is the warm kind — praise, teasing, being fussed over. It is a verb, so it is 照れる or 照れている, and the adjective form is 照れくさい. 恥ずかしい is wider and heavier, and it is the one that can shade into real shame.

What does 恥ずかしがり屋 mean?

A shy person — somebody who is shy by disposition rather than at one moment. It is built from 恥ずかしがる, the verb you need when the feeling is somebody else's, plus 屋, which names a type of person. The same pattern gives 寂しがり屋 and 照れ屋.

How do I say “it was embarrassing”?

恥ずかしかった, politely 恥ずかしかったです. Not 恥ずかしいでした — い-adjectives take their own past ending and leave the copula alone. To lead into a consequence, use the て-form: 恥ずかしくて何も言えなかった.

What does 恥ずかしながら mean?

“I am ashamed to say…” — a set phrase that opens an admission in formal speech and writing, usually about your own ignorance or failure: 恥ずかしながら、まだ知りませんでした. In business letters the same idea appears as お恥ずかしい限りです.

References

Sources and usage notes

Kotobank: 恥ずかしい — Defines shame, embarrassment and self-consciousness senses.

Nearby

Where this word turns up

寂しいsabishii

the other feeling adjective that needs がる for somebody else

遠慮enryo

holding back before the embarrassment ever arrives

そうだ vs らしいsou da · rashii

恥ずかしそう vs 恥ずかしいらしい — how you know what they feel

JLPT N4level index

every N4 grammar point on the site

One email on launch day

That's the whole list. rikAI is an iPhone app and it isn't out yet.

See what rikAI does · How it works · All grammar points · Language concepts