不好意思 (bùhǎoyìsi) · sorry
不好意思 (bùhǎoyìsi) means “sorry; excuse me; embarrassed”. It is written with 4 characters: 不 (not) + 好 (good) + 意 (thought) + 思 (to think). It is an HSK 2 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
How 不好意思 is built
The characters
不 bù · not
What 不 is made of
- 一 — horizontal stroke
Origin hint: A bird flying toward the sky 一 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
好 hǎo · good
What 好 is made of
- 女nǚ — woman
- 子zǐ — child
- 了liǎo / le — finish
- 乛 — bent stroke
- 亅 — hook
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 了liǎo / le — finish
Origin hint: A woman 女 with a son 子 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
意 yì · thought
What 意 is made of
- 音yīn — sound
- 立lì — to stand
- 亠tóu — lid
- 丷ha — kwukyel
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 日rì — sun; day
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 立lì — to stand
- 心xīn — heart
Origin hint: 心 gives the meaning, 音 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
思 sī · to think
What 思 is made of
- 田tián — field
- 冂 — frame
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 土tǔ — earth
- 十 — ten
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 冂 — frame
- 心xīn — heart
Origin hint: Weighing something with your mind 囟 (altered) and heart 心 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
Example sentences
Questions about 不好意思
What does 不好意思 mean?
不好意思 (bùhǎoyìsi) means “sorry; excuse me; embarrassed”.
How do you pronounce 不好意思?
不好意思 is pronounced bùhǎoyìsi.
Which HSK level is 不好意思?
不好意思 is in HSK 2 (exam 2025) and HSK 2 (2021).
Related words
- 不大bùdànot very
- 不对bùduìwrong
- 不客气bùkèqiyou are welcome
- 不用bùyòngno need
- 对不起duìbuqǐsorry
- 是不是shìbushìis it or not
- 不错bùcuònot bad
- 不但bùdànnot only (... but also ...)
- 不够bùgòunot enough
- 不过bùguòbut
It is part of HSK 2 (2021) · Group 36: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.