要面子 (yào miàn zi) — to be concerned about appearances / reputation, often to an excessive degree
Definition
A colloquial verb meaning to care (excessively) about face and appearances — what others think of you. The single noun 面子 alone is just 'face/reputation' as a concept; 要面子 focuses on the active behavior of protecting it, often unnecessarily.
verb
to be concerned about appearances / reputationoften to an excessive degree
Examples
- 要面子，。Tā tài yào miàn zi le, míng míng cuò le yě bú dào qiàn.He cares too much about face; even though he's clearly wrong, he won't apologize.
- ，。Wèi le yí cì hé zuò, tā bú yào miàn zi qù qiú duì fāng.For the sake of a partnership, he set aside his pride and went to beg the other party.
- 要面子，。Nǐ bié zǒng shì yào miàn zi, ǒu ěr diū diǎn miàn zi yě méi shén me.Don't always worry about appearances; it's okay to lose a bit of face once in a while.
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