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容颜 (róng yán) — appearance, looks (especially of the face); complexion

Definition

Literary word for a person's looks or face — more formal and poetic than 长相, which is everyday. Pairs closely with 容貌; 容颜 leans toward face/beauty with a writing style, while 容貌 is broader appearance and features.

noun
appearancelooks (especially of the face)complexion

Examples

  • ，容颜。
    Suì yuè wú qíng, gǎi biàn le tā de róng yán.
    Time is merciless; it changed her looks.
  • 容颜。
    Tā de róng yán rú tóng huà zhōng rén yì bān měi lì.
    Her appearance is as beautiful as someone in a painting.
  • 容颜。
    Tā měi tiān dōu hěn yòng xīn dì bǎo yǎng róng yán.
    She takes great care to maintain her complexion every day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

容róngappearance
颜yánface

容 and 颜 both refer to the face and its look.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
公
公gōng容róng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 容, the 宀 (roof) part points to holding or containing, and 公 gives the sound.

Open 容 →

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 顏; 颜 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
彥
彥yàn顏⁰yán
Same sound today

The traditional form 顏, not the simplified 颜, pairs 彥 as a sound part with 頁, a head, for face or countenance.

Open 颜 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9AppearanceBody Parts

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