不好意思

bùhǎoyìsi

phrase HSK 2 #670

Meanings

Literally 'not comfortable/good feeling' — used for mild embarrassment or casual apologies.

Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ chídào le.

Sorry, I'm late.

Bù hǎoyìsi, qǐngwèn xǐshǒujiān zài nǎr?

Excuse me, where is the restroom?

Tā bù hǎoyìsi shuō chūlái.

He was too embarrassed to say it.

usage

Lighter than 对不起. Use 不好意思 for small inconveniences, 对不起 for real apologies.

culture

Chinese people often say 不好意思 when receiving compliments or gifts — a modest deflection.

不 bù

好 hǎo

意 yì

思 sī