ham4 sau1含羞
Jyutpingham4 sau1
Yalehàhm sāu
Definition
Shy or bashful, typically describing a girl's expression when looking down or avoiding eye contact.
colloquialemotiondescriptions
How it's used
Literary and descriptive, this term carries a more elegant or poetic nuance than the everyday 怕醜. It specifically evokes a visual image of someone, typically a young woman, lowering her gaze or blushing due to modesty or romantic interest. While 怕醜 is a general state of being shy or socially awkward, 含羞 focuses on the delicate, performative aspect of shyness.
Examples
She looks very bashful when she sees her crush.
It is really cute when a girl bashfully lowers her head.
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using this to describe general social anxiety or a lack of confidence, as it is reserved for romantic or modest contexts. Using it to describe a shy child or a nervous interviewee would sound unnatural or overly dramatic.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
