对得起

對得起

duìdeqǐ

verb HSK 7-9 #20,042

Meanings

1 to be worthy of
2 to not let someone down
3 to live up to

Characters

to face; toward

able to (complement marker)

to rise; to afford

Literally 'able to face' someone - meaning you can look them in the eye without guilt.

Examples

HSK 5

你要对得起父母的期望。

Nǐ yào duìdeqǐ fùmǔ de qīwàng.

You should live up to your parents' expectations.

HSK 7-9

他觉得自己对得起自己的良心。

Tā juéde zìjǐ duìdeqǐ zìjǐ de liángxīn.

He feels he has a clear conscience.

Tips

grammar

对得起 is a separable complement structure. The negative form is 对不起 (duìbuqǐ), which doubles as the common apology 'sorry' - literally 'I can't face you'.

memory

对得起 = 'can face someone' = worthy. 对不起 = 'can't face someone' = sorry. The pair makes both words easy to remember!

Stroke Order

对 duì

得 de

起 qǐ