面容 (miàn róng) — facial features, face | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

面容 refers to a person's overall facial appearance, often with a focus on expression or visible condition. More literary than 脸 and typically describes how a face looks (tired, pale), not the physical features themselves like 五官 does.

noun

facial featuresface

Examples

面容。
Tā de miàn róng kàn qǐ lái hěn pí juàn.
His face looks very tired.
，面容。
Jīng lì le zhè chǎng shì gù, tā de miàn róng biàn de cāng bái.
After this accident, her face became pale.
面容。
Lǎo rén nà zhāng bù mǎn zhòu wén de miàn róng ràng rén yìn xiàng shēn kè.
The old man's face full of wrinkles left a deep impression.

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

面 gives the face, and 容 gives appearance; the two meanings join to name facial features.

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.

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.

Appears in

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.