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门面 (mén miàn) — shop front, storefront; appearance, facade (often figurative, implying an image maintained for show)

Definition

Literally the 'face' of a shop — the storefront, and by extension the image a business puts forward. Refers only to outward appearance or reputation, not the actual substance inside.

noun
shop frontstorefrontappearancefacade (often figurative, implying an image maintained for show)
Measure word · 间

Examples

  • 门面。
    Zhè jiā cān tīng de mén miàn zhuāng xiū dé hěn jiǎng jiu.
    The shop front of this restaurant is very tastefully decorated.
  • 门面，。
    Tā tè bié zhòng shì mén miàn, dàn shí jì shang gōng sī yǐ jīng kuài dǎo bì le.
    He cares a lot about appearances, but in reality the company is about to go bankrupt.
  • 门面，。
    Wèi le chēng zhù gōng sī de mén miàn, tā men jiè qián mǎi le háo chē.
    In order to maintain the company's facade, they borrowed money to buy a luxury car.

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.

门méndoor; shop entrance
面miànface; front

门 and 面 combine to name the front of a shop, where the entrance and visible surface meet.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

Open 门 →

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 ConceptsBusiness & Commerce

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