Dictionary › 不好意思

不好意思

bù hǎo yì si

Old HSK 5 HSK 3.0 level 2 4-character word

不好意思 (bù hǎo yì si) means "to feel embarrassed". It is an HSK 3.0 level 2 word, and was HSK 5 in the old six-level list.

What 不好意思 means

1. to feel embarrassed
2. to find it embarrassing
3. to be sorry (for inconveniencing sb)

The characters in 不好意思

• 不bùno; not so; (bound form) not; un-
• 好hǎogood; appropriate; proper; all right!
• 意yì(bound form) idea; thought; meaning; sense; (bound form) intention; feeling; inclination…
• 思sīto think; to consider

Example sentences

• 不好意思！
  Excuse me!
• 不好意思？
  Sorry?

Where 不好意思 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Emotions & Moods (HSK 5), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 5 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read bù hǎo yì si correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.