自愧不如 zì kuì bù rú feel inferior

Explanation

自己感到惭愧不如别人。形容自卑。

Feeling ashamed and inferior to others. Describes feelings of inferiority.

Origin Story

话说春秋战国时期，有个名叫李白的年轻人，他自幼聪颖好学，尤其对诗词歌赋情有独钟。他常常翻阅古籍，揣摩名家诗作，心中充满了对诗仙李白的景仰。有一次，他参加当地举办的诗歌大赛，当他看到参赛选手一个个才华横溢，诗作精美绝伦时，他开始感到紧张不安。轮到他上台时，他却发现自己准备的诗作与其他选手的相比，显得黯淡无光，词句也略显稚嫩。比赛结束后，李白默默地离开了比赛现场，心中充满了自愧不如之情。他意识到，自己虽然努力学习，但与那些天赋异禀，经验丰富的诗人相比，还有很长的路要走。他并没有因此灰心丧气，而是更加努力地学习，不断提升自己的文学修养，最终在诗歌创作的道路上取得了不小的成就。

huà shuō chūn qiū zhàn guó shí qī, yǒu gè míng jiào lǐ bái de nián qīng rén, tā zì yòu cōng yǐng hǎo xué, yóu qí duì shī cí gē fù qíng yǒu dú zhōng. tā cháng cháng fān yuè gǔ jí, chuǎi mó míng jiā shī zuò, xīn zhōng chōng mǎn le duì shī xiān lǐ bái de jǐng yǎng. yǒu yī cì, tā cān jiā dì fāng jǔ bàn de shī gē dà sài, dāng tā kàn dào cān sài xuǎn shǒu yī gè gè cái huá héng yì, shī zuò jīng měi jué lún shí, tā kāi shǐ gǎn dào jǐn zhāng bù ān. lún dào tā shàng tái shí, tā què fā xiàn zì jǐ zhǔn bèi de shī zuò yǔ qí tā xuǎn shǒu de xiāng bǐ, xiǎn de àn dàn wú guāng, cí jù yě luò xiǎn zhì nèn. bǐ sài jié shù hòu, lǐ bái mò mò de lí kāi le bǐ sài xiàn chǎng, xīn zhōng chōng mǎn le zì kuì bù rú zhī qíng. tā yì shí dào, zì jǐ suī rán nǔ lì xué xí, dàn yǔ nà xiē tiān fù yì bǐng, jīng yàn fēng fù de shī rén xiāng bǐ, hái yǒu hěn cháng de lù yào zǒu. tā bìng méi yǒu yīn cǐ huī xīn sàng qì, ér shì gèng jiā nǔ lì de xué xí, bù duàn tí shēng zì jǐ de wén xué xiū yǎng, zuì zhōng zài shī gē chuàng zuò de dà lù shàng qǔ dé le bù xiǎo de chéng jiù.

During the Warring States period of ancient China, there lived a young man named Li Bai, known for his intelligence and love of learning, particularly poetry. He spent countless hours studying ancient texts and emulating the great poets, deeply admiring the renowned Li Bai. One day, he participated in a local poetry competition. As he listened to other contestants reciting their exquisite poems, he felt a growing sense of unease. When his turn came, he realized his own work paled in comparison, its language immature and lacking in depth. After the competition, Li Bai quietly left, his heart heavy with the feeling of self-doubt and inadequacy. He recognized that despite his efforts, he had a long way to go to match the talent and experience of the other poets. However, instead of giving up, he redoubled his efforts, dedicating himself to refining his skills and knowledge. Eventually, he achieved considerable success in his poetic pursuits.

Usage

表示自己不如别人，感到惭愧。多用于口语。

biǎo shì zì jǐ bù rú bié rén, gǎn dào cán kuì. duō yòng yú kǒu yǔ.

To express that one feels inferior to others and feels ashamed. Mostly used in spoken language.

Examples

• 李明在演讲比赛中表现出色，而我却自愧不如。

  Li Ming zai yanjiang bisai zhong biaoxian chuose, er wo que zikui buru.

  Li Ming performed outstandingly in the speech contest, while I felt inferior in comparison.

• 这次考试，小张的成绩比我好，我自愧不如。

  Zheci kaoshi, xiao Zhang de chengji bi wo hao, wo zikui buru.

  In this exam, Xia Zhang's score was better than mine, and I felt inferior.

Related Idioms

• 自惭形秽

• 妄自菲薄

• 自卑

Opposite Idioms

• 自鸣得意

• 自高自大

• 目空一切