爱面子 (ài miàn zǐ) — to care excessively about one's reputation or dignity; to be overly self-conscious about saving face

Definition

A verb-object phrase meaning to care excessively about saving face — more negative than 客气 (polite) or 讲面子 (simply value face), and implies vanity or stubbornness that blocks honest action.

verb
to care excessively about one's reputation or dignityto be overly self-conscious about saving face

Examples

  • 爱面子，。
    Tā tài ài miàn zǐ le, cóng bù kěn chéng rèn cuò wù.
    He cares too much about face and never admits mistakes.
  • ，。
    Tā ài le yí bèi zi miàn zi, cóng bú yuàn yì qiú rén.
    He cared about face all his life and never wanted to ask for help.
  • 爱面子，。
    Tā tè bié ài miàn zǐ, chū mén zǒng yào dǎ bàn dé hěn tǐ miàn.
    She cares a lot about face; she always dresses very presentably when going out.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

爱àilove/care
面子face
面miànface子zǐsuffix

爱面子 pairs 爱 and 面子 to mean caring too much about one's 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 愛; 爱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
旡
旡jì愛ài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For the traditional form 愛, an older shape paired 心 (heart) with 旡 as its sound part; later a foot-like 夊 was added below. The simplified 爱 is a later variant that replaces the lower part with 友.

Open 爱 →

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 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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