羞
xiū
shy
ashamed; shame; bashful; variant of 饈|馐[xiu1]; delicacies
sheep (羊) + ugly/disgrace (丑) = shame and bashfulness
In ancient ritual, presenting a sheep as an offering while feeling unworthy captures the dual sense of shame and precious food. The 丑 component reinforces ugliness or disgrace, so together the character conveys the flush of embarrassment.
她见到陌生人就会害羞，不敢说话。
tā jiàn dào mò shēng rén jiù huì hài xiū, bù gǎn shuō huà。
she becomes shy whenever she meets strangers and doesn't dare to speak.
他做了错事，心里感到羞愧，不敢抬头看人。
tā zuò le cuò shì, xīn lǐ gǎn dào xiū kuì, bù gǎn tái tóu kàn rén。
he did something wrong and felt ashamed inside, not daring to raise his head to look at anyone.
Words with 羞
遮羞
zhē xiū
to cover up one's embarrassment
遮羞布
zhē xiū bù
loincloth
闭月羞花
bì yuè xiū huā
lit. hiding the moon, shaming the flowers (idiom)
点名羞辱
diǎn míng xiū rǔ
to attack publicly
不知羞耻
bù zhī xiū chǐ
to have no sense of shame
含羞草
hán xiū cǎo
mimosa
囊中羞涩
náng zhōng xiū sè
to be embarrassingly short of money
娇羞
jiāo xiū
bashful
害羞
hài xiū
shy
怕羞
pà xiū
coy
怯羞
qiè xiū
see 羞怯[xiu1 qie4]
恼羞成怒
nǎo xiū chéng nù
(idiom) to become enraged over a perceived humiliation