The story of 羞

ashamed, shy

《羞》 羞 is composed of the variant of 羊 (goat, lamb) and 丑 (clown). Ancient Chinese used sheep as sacrifice for gods. 丑 is a picture of a hand, so 羞 depicts presenting sacrifice with hands, means offering, but such meaning has been replaced by 饈. When offering sacrifice to the god, one must be humble, so the word 羞 also derives the meaning of shame.