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脸面 (liǎn miàn) — one's social standing and reputation; face (in the Chinese cultural sense); self-respect; dignity

Definition

In Chinese culture, 脸面 is more than a face — it's the social standing and dignity a person must protect. Use 丢脸面 or 给…留脸面 when someone loses or is spared public embarrassment.

noun
one's social standing and reputationface (in the Chinese cultural sense)self-respectdignity

Examples

  • ，脸面。
    Zài tán pàn zhōng, shuāng fāng dōu hěn zhòng shì zì jǐ de liǎn miàn.
    In negotiations, both sides attach great importance to their face.
  • ，脸面。
    Tā dāng chǎng jiē chuān huǎng yán, ràng duì fāng diū jìn le liǎn miàn.
    He exposed the lie on the spot, making the other party lose all face.
  • 脸面，。
    Wǒ men dé gěi tā liú diǎn liǎn miàn, bú yào dāng miàn pī píng tā.
    We should save his face; don't criticize him to his face.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

脸liǎnface
面miànsurface

脸 is the face and 面 is its surface; together they stand for reputation or dignity.

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 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.

Open 脸 →

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
Abstract Concepts

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