謙 means 'self-effacing'

Here one finds all aspects of humble language: a detailed exploration of that linguistic concept (in the 謙 essay), self-deprecating pronouns, humble prefixes, and ways of putting down one's work or one's company. Two of the four kanji join forces in a noun for "modesty; humility" and constitute alternate renderings of へりくだる (to deprecate oneself and praise the listener). Although 遜 means "humble, inferior," aligning with the other three kanji, the Japanese typically negate that humility with 不, ending up with arrogance, which takes this bundle in an unexpected direction.