刮脸 (guā liǎn) — to shave (one's face)

Definition

Separable verb meaning 'to shave (one's face)': insert other elements between 刮 and 脸, as in 刮了一次脸, 刮完脸, 把脸刮一刮. Compare with 刮胡子 (shave the beard).

verb

to shave (one's face)

刮脸。
Měi tiān zǎo shàng tā dōu yào guā liǎn.
He has to shave every morning.
，。
Tā gāng guā le liǎn, kàn zhe tè bié jīng shén.
He just shaved and looks especially refreshed.
。
Nǐ zuì hǎo guā yí cì liǎn zài qù miàn shì.
You'd better shave once before going to the interview.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

刮 means to scrape or shave, and 脸 means face; together they describe shaving the face.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

刀刀dāoknife

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠯑

𠯑𠯑刮guā

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

刮 combines 刀, a knife, with 𠯑, which gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臉; 脸 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

⺼Written in full as肉ròubody part

Sound part声符shēngfú

僉

僉qiān臉liǎn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 臉 combines ⺼ (肉, body part) with 僉 as a sound part; the simplified 脸 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in