Mnemonic
A goat catches a comet by the tail and crashes straight into a penguin's black-tie banquet, flipping the table and splattering food everywhere. Every penguin stares in dead silence. The goat starts to feel ashamed, ears drooping, blushing so hard its white fur turns pink as it backs through the wreckage.
Additional thoughts
Picture the goat streaking across the sky on the comet, then the sudden freeze-frame of horrified penguins in tuxedos. The goat's pink blush against white fur is your shame cue.Quick recall
A goat riding a comet destroys a penguin's gala and begins to feel ashamed.Details
The keyword for 羞 is feel ashamed. This kanji conveys the emotion of shame, embarrassment, or humiliation—the painful self-conscious feeling one experiences when exposed to disgrace or impropriety. It captures that deep sense of mortification where one wishes to hide from others' eyes, often accompanied by blushing or an inability to face people directly. The character encompasses both the internal emotional state of shame and the social dimension of feeling disgraced before others.
- On'yomi
- しゅう
- Kun'yomi
- はじ.る、すすめ.る、は.ずかしい