Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 無恥 / 无耻 | wúchǐ |
| 恬不知恥的 / 恬不知耻的 | tiánbùzhīchǐ de |
| 不要臉的 / 不要脸的 | bùyàoliǎn de |
| 厚顏無恥的 / 厚颜无耻的 | hòuyánwúchǐ de |
Depending on the context, you might use it to describe someone who is simply without shame, someone who is brazen and thick-skinned or someone who is blissfully unaware of their own lack of shame.
What does it mean word for word?
In the phrase 不要臉的 / 不要脸的, the literal meaning is "don't want face", where "face" (liǎn) refers to a person's social standing or dignity.
Which one should you use?
無恥 / 无耻 is the standard adjective for "shameless". For a more intense and idiomatic effect, you can use the four-character expression 厚顏無恥的 / 厚颜无耻的, which means "brazenly shameless" and emphasizes a thick-skinned quality. 恬不知恥的 / 恬不知耻的 is used specifically to describe someone who is blissfully unaware of their own shamelessness. Finally, 不要臉的 / 不要脸的 is a colloquial way to describe someone as shameless or thick-skinned.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
無恥 / 无耻 is a formal and standard adjective. In casual, spoken conversation, 不要臉的 / 不要脸的 is the most common way to call someone shameless. 厚顏無恥的 / 厚颜无耻的 is a stronger, more idiomatic expression.
How does it change in a sentence?
When using multi-character forms like 不要臉的 / 不要脸的 or 厚顏無恥的 / 厚颜无耻的 as adjectives before a noun, you must add the adjectival particle 的 (de).
How do you pronounce it?
wúchǐ
Did you know?
- In highly colloquial settings, calling someone 不要臉 (bù yào liǎn) can be a severe personal insult. Because 'face' is so central to social harmony in Chinese culture, suggesting someone does not want it implies they have abandoned their humanity.
- The phrase 恬不知恥的 / 恬不知耻的 contains the character 恬 (tián), which usually means 'calm' or 'quiet'. This creates a paradoxical image of someone who is peacefully and serenely unaware that they are behaving shamelessly.
- The term 厚顏 / 厚颜 in 厚顏無恥的 / 厚颜无耻的 literally means 'thick face'. In Chinese culture, a 'thick' face is a metaphor for a lack of sensitivity to shame, whereas a 'thin' face implies someone who is easily embarrassed.
Examples in context
- 不要脸Yes, he's so shameless!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “shameless” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
