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双面 (shuāng miàn) — (attr.) two-sided, double-sided (having two surfaces or sides); (attr.) double-edged, two-faced (in a figurative sense, e.g., a double agent or a double-edged sword)

Definition

Literally 'two-sided' — used for objects with two usable sides (e.g., 双面胶) and, figuratively, for a person who acts one way in public and another in private.

adjective
(attr.) two-sideddouble-sided (having two surfaces or sides)(attr.) double-edgedtwo-faced (in a figurative sense, e.g., a double agent or a double-edged sword)

Examples

  • 双面。
    Wǒ yòng shuāng miàn jiāo bǎ zhào piàn tiē zài le qiáng shàng.
    I used double-sided tape to stick the photo on the wall.
  • 双面，，。
    Tā shì gè shuāng miàn rén, biǎo miàn shàng duì nǐ hǎo, bèi hòu què shuō nǐ huài huà.
    He is a two-faced person — nice to your face but talks behind your back.
  • 双面。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng jiǎng de shì yí gè shuāng miàn jiàn dié de gù shi.
    This movie tells the story of a double agent.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

双shuāngdouble
面miànside

双 means double and 面 means side, giving two-sided.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

双 is made of two 又 parts side by side. Repeating 又 gives the sense of a pair.

Open 双 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

Open 面 →
Appears in
Shapes

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