打脸

打臉

dǎliǎn

verb

Meanings

1 to be proven wrong
2 to have one's words come back to bite
3 to be publicly contradicted

Characters

to hit; to strike

Literally 'to slap the face' - when reality contradicts someone's boast or prediction, it's like getting slapped.

Examples

HSK 2

他刚说不会下雨，马上就打脸了。

Tā gāng shuō bùhuì xiàyǔ, mǎshàng jiù dǎliǎn le.

He just said it wouldn't rain, and immediately got proven wrong.

HSK 6

这个预测被现实狠狠打脸。

Zhège yùcè bèi xiànshí hěnhěn dǎliǎn.

This prediction was brutally contradicted by reality.

Tips

usage

Can be used transitively (something slaps your face) or intransitively (you get face-slapped). 打脸来得太快 (the face-slap came too fast) is used when someone is proven wrong almost immediately.

memory

Imagine someone making a bold claim, then reality walks up and slaps them across the face. That sharp sting of being publicly wrong - that's it.

Stroke Order

打 dǎ

脸 liǎn