现眼 (xiàn yǎn) — to make a fool of oneself (in public); to lose face

Definition

现眼 (xiànyǎn) is a colloquial verb meaning to embarrass oneself or lose face in public — typically used to scold or describe someone's blunder in front of others. Colloquial and stronger than 丢脸.

verb
to make a fool of oneself (in public)to lose face

Examples

  • 现眼，。
    Tā zǒng ài zài bié rén miàn qián xiàn yǎn, zhēn ràng rén shòu bù liǎo.
    He always loves to make a fool of himself in front of others; it's really unbearable.
  • ，。
    Tā zài gōng sī nián huì shàng shuō cuò huà le, xiàn le yí cì yǎn.
    He said the wrong thing at the company annual party and made a fool of himself.
  • 现眼。
    Nǐ zhè yàng zuò zhī huì ràng jiā rén zài qīn qi miàn qián xiàn yǎn.
    Doing this will only make your family lose face in front of relatives.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

现xiànexpose
眼yǎneye

现 means to expose and 眼 refers to the face or eyes, so making a fool of oneself in public.

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.

Open 现 →

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
目目mùeye
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn眼yǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

眼 combines 目, which is an eye, with 艮, which gives the character's sound.

Open 眼 →

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