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面对面 (miàn duì miàn) — face-to-face; in person

Definition

verb
face-to-facein person

Examples

  • 面对面。
    Wǒ men miàn duì miàn tán yi tán ba.
    Let's talk face-to-face.
  • 面对面，。
    Tā men miàn duì miàn zuò zhe, shuí dōu méi shuō huà.
    They sat facing each other, and neither spoke.
  • 面对面，。
    Liǎng rén miàn duì miàn, bù zhī gāi shuō shén me.
    The two were face to face, not knowing what to say.

Origin

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.

Open 面 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →

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 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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