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恥の上塗り (hajinouwanuri) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

恥はじの上うわ塗ぬり

は

じ

の

う

わ

ぬ

り

Meanings

1

piling shame on top of shame; adding insult to injury

Idiomatic expression for making a shameful situation even worse by another disgraceful act.

遅ち刻こくした上うえに言いい訳わけまでして、恥はじの上うわ塗ぬりだった

。

Not only was I late, but I made excuses on top of that, which just added to the shame.

Kanji

恥shame, dishonor
上above, up
塗paint, plaster, daub

Related words

傷きず口ぐちに塩しおを塗ぬる
Focuses on making someone's pain worse, while 恥の上塗り is specifically about compounding one's own shame.

Built from

恥はじ+上うわ塗ぬり

Etymology

Compound of 恥 (shame) + の (possessive particle) + 上塗り (adding another layer, from 上 'above' and 塗り 'coating'). The image is of applying another coat of shame over an already shameful situation.