脸上无光 (liǎn shàng wú guāng) — to lose face, to be disgraced (said of someone whose reputation or social standing suffers a blow)

Definition

An idiom meaning 'to lose face' — used when someone's reputation or social standing suffers. The face (脸) here is 面子; emphasis is on feeling shamed by an event (failing an exam, being criticized), not on one's own action.

idiom
to lose faceto be disgraced (said of someone whose reputation or social standing suffers a blow)

Examples

  • ，脸上无光。
    Kǎo shì méi jí gé, tā jué de liǎn shàng wú guāng.
    He failed the exam and felt like he lost face.
  • 脸上无光。
    Dāng zhòng bèi pī píng ràng tā liǎn shàng wú guāng.
    Being criticized in public made him lose face.
  • ，脸上无光。
    Jiā rén fàn cuò, tā yě gēn zhe liǎn shàng wú guāng.
    When his family members made mistakes, he also lost face by association.

Origin

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 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 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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

  • 火火huǒfire
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The shape 光 places 火 (fire) above 卩 (a kneeling person), showing fire over the head and the shining of light.

Open 光 →

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