纸面 (zhǐ miàn) — paper surface; the surface of paper; (figurative) on paper; in written form (as opposed to actual practice)

Definition

Literally 'paper surface' — by extension, 纸面 (纸面上) means 'on paper / in theory', i.e. something that looks true on paper or in writing but may not hold up in practice.

noun
paper surfacethe surface of paper(figurative) on paperin written form (as opposed to actual practice)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 纸面，。
    Zhè zhāng zhǐ de zhǐ miàn hěn guāng huá, shì hé dǎ yìn.
    The surface of this paper is very smooth, suitable for printing.
  • 纸面，。
    Zhè ge jì huà zài zhǐ miàn shàng kàn qǐ lái hěn hǎo, dàn shí jì zhí xíng hěn nán.
    This plan looks good on paper, but it's hard to execute in practice.
  • 纸面，。
    Gōng sī de zhǐ miàn zī chǎn hěn duō, dàn xiàn jīn liú bù zú.
    The company has a lot of paper assets, but insufficient cash flow.

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.

纸zhǐpaper
面miànsurface

纸 specifies the material, and 面 names its surface.

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 紙; 纸 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
氏
氏shì紙zhǐ
Same sound today

For 纸, the traditional form 紙 combines 糸 (silk) with 氏 (the sound part).

Open 纸 →

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 →

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