恥

Two classical interpretations exist.

Phono-semantic compound — according to Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

心 (“heart”) — semantic element, emotion/feeling

耳 (“ear”) — phonetic element

《說文解字》 (Shuowen Jiezi)

「恥，辱也。从心，耳聲。」

“恥 means disgrace. Formed from 心 (heart) and the sound component 耳.”

Ideogrammatic compound:

Many traditional scholars saw it as “a heart (emotion) turning red up to the ears” representing the bodily reaction of blushing from shame.

The simplified form replaces 心 with 止. However, it is not a true phonetic compound with 止; rather:

- in cursive / running script, 心 (on the right side) was abbreviated

- the abbreviated form visually resembled 止

- this abbreviated form was later standardized in Mainland China as the simplified character

恥 appears chiefly in literary, moral, and philosophical vocabulary.

Shame / shamefulness:

恥辱 (치욕) — shame; humiliation

恥事 (치사) — disgraceful act

羞恥 (수치) — shame; embarrassment

恥悍 (치한) — shameless and violent (rare)

Moral conscience:

知恥 (지치) — to know shame; moral self-awareness

廉恥 (염치) — integrity + sense of shame; moral propriety

The concept of 염치, “honor and shame,” has deep Confucian resonance.

Behaviour / evaluation:

無恥 (무치) — shameless

可恥 (가치) — shameful; disgraceful

Classical citations:

《論語·為政》(Analects, “Wei Zheng”)

「君子恥其言而過其行。」

“The gentleman is ashamed when his words exceed his deeds.”

《孟子·盡心下》(Mencius)

「人不可以無恥。」

“A person cannot be without a sense of shame.”

《禮記·曲禮》(Book of Rites)

「知恥近乎勇。」

“To know shame is close to courage.”

《史記·伯夷列傳》(Records of the Grand Historian)

「以為可恥。」

“He considered it shameful.”

𢛳 (rare ancient form)