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翻脸 (fān liǎn) — to fall out with someone, to suddenly turn hostile

Definition

翻脸 (fān liǎn) means to suddenly fall out or turn hostile — a relationship flips from friendly to angry over a specific issue, as in the examples over money or small matters. It is a 离合词 (separable verb): 翻脸 / 翻了脸 / 翻过一次脸.

verb
to fall out with someoneto suddenly turn hostile

Examples

  • 翻脸。
    Wǒ men bié zài wéi xiǎo shì fān liǎn le.
    Let's not fall out over little things.
  • 。
    Tā men liǎng gè rén yīn wèi qián fān le liǎn.
    The two of them fell out over money.
  • 。
    Tā gēn lǎo bǎn fān guò yí cì liǎn.
    She had a falling-out with the boss once.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

翻fānturn
脸liǎnface

翻 means turn and 脸 means face, so turning one's face expresses sudden hostility.

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
羽羽yǔwings
Sound part声符shēngfú
番
番fān翻fān
Same sound today

翻 pairs 羽 (wings) with 番, which gives the sound. The shape shows something fluttering.

Open 翻 →

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 臉; 脸 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròubody part
Sound part声符shēngfú
僉
僉qiān臉liǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 臉 combines ⺼ (肉, body part) with 僉 as a sound part; the simplified 脸 is a later abbreviation.

Open 脸 →
Appears in
Conflict & Agreement

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