面

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

See images of
Radical 176 面

面 (Kangxi radical 176, 面+0, 9 strokes, cangjie input 一田卜中 (MWYL) or 一田尸中 (MWSL), four-corner 1060₀, composition ⿱丆囬)

1. Kangxi radical #176, ⾯.

Derived characters

• Appendix:Chinese radical/面
• 偭, 喕, 𭎹, 媔, 𢃮, 愐, 湎, 𤟯, 𨕂, 㮌, 𣮻, 𤚛, 𬍵, 腼, 𥈅, 糆, 緬(缅), 蝒, 𧩤, 𧼸, 𨉥, 䤄, 𩋠, 𫗖, 𫘏, 𩳾, 𩹠, 麵(麺)
• 勔, 𨜧, 𣮿, 𦫥, 𩔁, 𩤤, 𪓱, 𫏔, 𩈳, 𩉖, 蠠, 𠷰, 奤, 𦵀, 𮅥, 𡫍, 𬏶, 圙, 圗

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1383, character 7
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 42618
• Dae Jaweon: page 1896, character 18
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 7, page 4398, character 1
• Unihan data for U+9762

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 面
Shang	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Oracle bone script	Small seal script

Pictogram (象形) , A man’s face, with an eye exaggerated, derived from 𦣻.

Etymology 1

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-mjal (“face”); cognate with Mizo hmêl (“face”), Jingpho man (“face”). 偭 (OC *menʔ, “to turn; to violate”) is probably cognate (Wang, 1982), perhaps its endoactive (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

Definitions

面

1. (literary or dialectal) face (Classifier: 塊／块 c)

   面帶笑容／面带笑容  ―  miàn dài xiàoróng  ―  to have a smile on one's face

   • 人心之不同，如其面焉。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

     From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE

     Rénxīn zhī bùtóng, rú qí miàn yān.

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   你塊面有笪嘢。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   你块面有笪嘢。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   nei⁵ faai³ min⁶ jau⁵ daat³ je⁵.

   There's something on your face.

2. surface; top; face

   水面  ―  shuǐmiàn  ―  water surface

   路面  ―  lùmiàn  ―  road surface

3. aspect; side; respect

   全面  ―  quánmiàn  ―  overall

4. right side; cover; outside
5. (geometry) face

   長方體有六個面。 [MSC, trad.]
   长方体有六个面。 [MSC, simp.]

   Chángfāngtǐ yǒu liù ge miàn.

   A cuboid has six faces.

6. (Cantonese, Singapore and Penang Hokkien) dignity; reputation; face

   冇面 [Cantonese]  ―  mou⁵ min^6-2   ―  to lose face; to be embarrassed

7. to meet

   面世  ―  miànshì  ―  to come out (literally, “to meet the world”)

   • 夫為人子者，出必告，反必面。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     夫为人子者，出必告，反必面。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Book of Rites, c. 4^th – 2^nd century BCE

     Fū wéi rénzǐ zhě, chū bì gào, fǎn bì miàn.

     A son, when he is going abroad, must inform (his parents where he is going); when he returns, he must present himself before them.

8. face-to-face

   面談／面谈  ―  miàntán  ―  to talk with someone face to face

   面告  ―  miàngào  ―  to inform face to face

   • 群臣吏民，能面刺寡人之過者，受上賞。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     群臣吏民，能面刺寡人之过者，受上赏。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Zhanguo Ce, circa 5^th – 3^rd centuries BCE

     Qúnchén lìmín, néng miàncì guǎrén zhī guò zhě, shòu shàng shǎng.

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

9. to face

   面壁  ―  miànbì  ―  to face the wall

   背山面水  ―  bèi shān miàn shuǐ  ―  backing on to a mountain and facing a body of water

10. suffix used to form a noun of locality

    前面  ―  qiánmiàn  ―  in front

    上面  ―  shàngmiàn  ―  higher place

    西面  ―  xīmiàn  ―  west

11. Short for 面試／面试 (miànshì, “interview”).

    HR面  ―  HRmiàn  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)

12. Classifier for objects with a flat surface.

    一面國旗／一面国旗  ―  yī miàn guóqí  ―  a national flag

    一面鼓  ―  yī miàn gǔ  ―  a drum

    • 四面牆笑阮為情塊傷悲 [Taiwanese Hokkien, trad.]
      四面墙笑阮为情块伤悲 [Taiwanese Hokkien, simp.]

      From: 2016, 郭之儀 (lyrics and music), 十全十美, performed by 蔡秋鳳

      sì bīn chhiûⁿ chhiò gún ūi chêng teh siong-pi [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

      The four walls are laughing at me for grieving over love

13. Classifier for numbers of times people meet each other.

    我和他只見過一面。 [MSC, trad.]
    我和他只见过一面。 [MSC, simp.]

    Wǒ hé tā zhǐ jiàn guo yī miàn.

    I have only met him once.

Synonyms

• (face):

• (dignity):

• (classifier):

Compounds