赤恥

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 赤恥 is a noun read あかはじ, meaning severe embarrassment or public humiliation. It commonly appears as 赤恥をかく.
• Basic usage: It can describe publicly embarrassing oneself by pretending to know or deny that asking a question is shameful.
  • 知ったかぶりをして皆の前で赤恥をかいた。 says that the speaker pretended to know and suffered great embarrassment in front of everyone; 質問することは赤恥ではない。 says that asking a question is not a cause for public humiliation.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 赤恥をかく
  • The combination with かく forms an idiomatic expression for suffering conspicuous embarrassment.
• 赤恥ではない
  • ではない denies that asking a question constitutes serious shame.
• 赤恥 and 恥
  • 恥 broadly denotes shame or embarrassment, while 赤恥 strongly emphasizes humiliation exposed before others.