📖 Meaning
To feel ashamed before both Heaven and one's fellow human beings. It describes a person who has done something wrong and feels too guilty to face anyone. The phrase conveys deep moral remorse and a sense of having violated one's conscience.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom derives from a passage in the Mengzi (Mencius), specifically the chapter 'Jin Xin Shang' (尽心上), where Mencius describes the second of a gentleman's three joys: 'Looking up, I am not ashamed before Heaven; looking down, I am not ashamed before people—this is my second joy.' The positive formulation '不愧于天，不怍于人' expresses a clear conscience. The idiom '愧天怍人' reverses this ideal, denoting the shameful state of having acted against morality. It has been used since the Warring States period to condemn wrongdoing and moral failure.
💡 Example Usage
他做了那件亏心事之后，愧天怍人，再也不敢面对老朋友。
After committing that wrongful deed, he felt ashamed before Heaven and people, never daring to face his old friends again.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 愧天怍人
- Pinyin: kuì tiān zuò rén
- Literal Translation: ashamed, heaven, ashamed, people
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4