现世 (xiàn shì) — to lose face, to be disgraced | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

现世 (xiànshì) as a verb means to lose face or be publicly disgraced. Less common than 丢脸 and carries a stronger, more literary sense of public humiliation.

verb

to lose faceto be disgraced

Examples

。
Tā dāng zhòng xiàn le yí cì shì.
He lost face in public once.
现世。
Zhè yàng zuò huì ràng quán jiā xiàn shì.
Doing this would make the whole family lose face.
现世。
Tā zài huì yì shàng xiàn shì le.
He lost face at the meeting.

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.

现xiànpresent

现 present and 世 world/life combine to mean this life or the present epoch.

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 現; 现 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

見

見jiàn現

Same sound today

The traditional form 現 pairs 玉 (jade) with 見 as a sound part; the simplified 现 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical parts.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

Emotions & Feelings

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