sich schämen
to be ashamed
The German phrase 'sich schämen' is used to express the feeling of embarrassment or shame. It is a reflexive verb, meaning it is used with 'sich' to indicate that the subject is performing the action on itself. For example, 'Ich schäme mich' means 'I am ashamed.' The word 'schämen' can also be used on its own to mean 'to be ashamed,' but the reflexive form is more common.
Example sentences using: sich schämen
Sie sollte sich schämen, sie hat ihre Freunde betrogen.
She should be ashamed, she has betrayed her friends.
In this sentence, 'sich schämen' is used to express the judgment that someone should feel embarrassed or guilty due to her action of betraying her friends. The verb 'schämen' is reflexive, meaning the subject of the sentence is also the object.
Er schämt sich öffentlich für sein Verhalten.
He is publicly ashamed of his behaviour.
This sentence uses 'sich schämen' to denote a personal acknowledgement and public display of guilt or regret for a previous conduct. The verb is again in reflexive form, indicating that the action of feeling shame is self-directed.
Ich schäme mich nicht, Fehler zu machen.
I am not ashamed to make mistakes.
In this sentence, 'sich schämen' reflects the speaker's refusal to feel embarrassed or guilty for making mistakes. The use of 'nicht' before 'schämen' negates the verb, implying a lack of shame.