TongTong
Sign in

面目 (miàn mù) — face, facial features; appearance, look, aspect; (figurative) face, dignity, honor (similar to 面子)

Definition

Literary noun meaning 'face, appearance' — both the literal features and a figurative 'look/dignity' of a thing or situation. Paired with 毫无 it means 'no sense of shame' (as in 毫无面目).

noun
facefacial featuresappearancelookaspect(figurative) facedignityhonor (similar to 面子)

Examples

  • ，面目。
    Tā suī rán shòu le shāng, dàn miàn mù réng rán hěn ān xiáng.
    Although he was injured, his expression remained very serene.
  • ，面目。
    Jǐ nián méi jiàn, jiā xiāng de miàn mù yǐ jīng dà biàn yàng le.
    After not seeing it for several years, the appearance of my hometown has completely changed.
  • ，面目。
    Tā zuò zhè zhǒng shì, zhēn shì háo wú miàn mù.
    He has no sense of shame doing this kind of thing.

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
目mùeye

面 and 目 together evoke the face and eyes, hence appearance.

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 →

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

目 began as a drawing of a human eye, turned sideways.

Open 目 →
Appears in
AppearanceBody Parts

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