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面红耳赤 (miàn hóng ěr chì) — (idiom) face flushed bright red (from anger, excitement, exertion, or embarrassment)

Definition

A vivid chengyu describing face and ears turning red from anger, embarrassment, or strenuous exertion. Unlike 兴奋 (which is purely an internal emotional state), this idiom emphasizes the visible physical flush.

idiom
face flushed bright red (from anger, excitement, exertion, or embarrassment)

Examples

  • 面红耳赤，。
    Tā men zhēng dé miàn hóng ěr chì, shuí yě bú ràng shuí.
    They argued so heatedly that their faces turned red, and neither gave in.
  • ，。
    Tā pǎo wán wǔ gōng lǐ hòu miàn hóng ěr chì, zhí chuǎn qì.
    After running five kilometers, his face was flushed red and he was gasping for breath.
  • ，面红耳赤。
    Tā dāng zhe quán bān de miàn bèi biǎo yáng, hài xiū dé miàn hóng ěr chì.
    She was praised in front of the whole class and blushed with embarrassment, her face and ears turning red.

Origin

Characters in this word

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 →

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 紅; 红 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng紅hóng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 紅 puts 糸 (silk) next to 工, which gives the sound; the simplified 红 is a later shorthand.

Open 红 →

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

耳 is drawn as a picture of an ear.

Open 耳 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

赤 is a stylized form showing 大 (a person) and 火 (fire), depicting a person by a fire.

Open 赤 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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