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面庞 (miàn páng) — face; contours of the face

Definition

Literary, written-style word for 'face', emphasizing the shape and features rather than identity. More formal than 脸 and more visual than 面孔, which sounds neutral or refers to a specific person.

noun
facecontours of the face

Examples

  • 面庞。
    Tā nà zhāng qīng xiù de miàn páng ràng rén guò mù nán wàng.
    Her delicate face is unforgettable at first sight.
  • 面庞。
    Lǎo rén bù mǎn zhòu wén de miàn páng xiě mǎn le suì yuè de gù shi.
    The old man's wrinkled face is etched with stories of time.
  • ，面庞。
    Suī rán duō nián wèi jiàn, dàn wǒ réng néng rèn chū tā de miàn páng.
    Although we haven't seen each other for years, I can still recognize his face.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

面miànface
庞pángface

面 and 庞 both refer to the face, together naming the face or its contours.

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 →

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 龐; 庞 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
广广guǎnghouse
Sound part声符shēngfú
龍
龍lóng龐páng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 龐 pairs 广 (house) with 龍 (a sound part); the simplified 庞 is a shorthand, so its right side is not the original part.

Open 庞 →
Appears in
Body Parts

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