恥ずかしい
hazukashii[ha̠zɨka̠ɕiː]
The English word "mortifying" can be translated into Japanese as 恥ずかしい (hazukashii).
恥ずかしい can be used to express a wide range of embarrassing or mortifying situations.
Meaning: extremely embarrassing (adj)
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is [hazukashii, fadukasii].
Did you know?
- The word can be used to describe things that are 'too good' or 'too beautiful' in a way that makes one feel small, a nuance not captured by the English 'mortifying'.
- In Japanese culture, expressing 恥ずかしい is often seen as a way to show humility or politeness rather than just a negative emotion.
- The historical pronunciation of 恥ずかしい was closer to 'padukasiki', which sounds quite different from the modern 'hazukashii'.
Examples in context
- 「超恥ずかしい！ごめんなさい！」So embarrassing! I'm sorry!
- 「屈辱的なミスをしてしまいました。本当に申し訳ありません。」I made a humiliating mistake. I am truly sorry.
- 「やばい、すごく恥ずかしかった！ミスしちゃったよ！」Oh no, it was so embarrassing! I made a mistake!
- 間違いを指摘されて、とても恥ずかしいです。Machigai o shiteki sarete, totemo hazukashii desu.It is extremely embarrassing to be pointed out for my mistake.
- 人前で転ぶのは、本当に恥ずかしい。Hitomae de korobu no wa, hontou ni hazukashii.Falling down in front of people is truly mortifying.
Example conversation
Kenta tells Yui about a mistake he made at work.
- 結衣 Yui健太、どうしたの？Kenta, dō shita no?Kenta, what happened?
- 健太 Kenta会議で言い間違いをして、本当に恥ずかしいよ。Kaigi de iimachigai o shite, hontō ni hazukashii yo.I misspoke during the meeting, it's so mortifying.
- 結衣 Yui大丈夫だよ。誰も気にしてないと思うよ。Daijōbu da yo. Dare mo kinishitenai to omou yo.It's okay. I don't think anyone noticed.
- 健太 Kentaそうだといいんだけど。Sō da to ii ndakedo.I hope that's true.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 恥ずかしい, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 恥ずかしい, CC BY-SA 4.0.
