shame
Loading your saved state.
shame
An unpleasant feeling of embarrassment, humiliation, or guilt that arises from the awareness of having done something inappropriate, wrong, or embarrassing.
Er wurde rot vor Scham, als er seinen Fehler bemerkte.
He blushed with shame when he noticed his mistake.
'Die Scham' (shame) is the noun related to the reflexive verb 'sich schämen' (to be ashamed). If you 'Scham empfinden' (feel shame), then you 'schämt man sich' (are ashamed).
Er schämte sich für sein Verhalten.
He was ashamed of his behavior.
The feeling 'Scham' (shame) is often used with the prepositions 'vor' or 'aus' to express the reason. Typical phrases are 'rot werden vor Scham' (to blush with shame), 'vor Scham im Boden versinken' (to want to sink into the ground from shame), or 'etwas aus Scham tun' (to do something out of shame).
Sie schwieg aus Scham über den Vorfall.
She remained silent out of shame about the incident.
In the meaning 'Genitalbereich' (genital area), 'die Scham' (the pubic area) is a very formal, medical, or outdated expression. This word is not used for that in everyday language.
Der Arzt untersuchte den Bereich der Scham.
The doctor examined the pubic area.
You can often recognize the anatomical meaning from compound words like 'Schambein' (pubic bone), 'Schamhaar' (pubic hair), or 'Schamlippen' (labia). These terms belong to medical or biological technical language.
Das Schambein ist ein Teil des menschlichen Beckens.
The pubic bone is part of the human pelvis.
shame / disgrace
'die Schande' and 'die Scham' both have to do with shame, but they do not mean the same thing. 'Scham' is a feeling inside a person: you feel embarrassed, guilty, or humiliated. 'Schande' more often describes the action or state that is considered dishonorable or deeply shameful. The words are easy to confuse because both can occur after a mistake or an embarrassing situation. Remember: you feel 'Scham', but something can be 'eine Schande'.
Selma senkte den Blick, weil sie vor Scham kaum sprechen konnte.
Selma lowered her eyes because she could barely speak from shame.
Für den Verein war der Betrug des Trainers eine große Schande.
For the club, the coach's fraud was a great disgrace.