撕破脸

撕破臉

sīpòliǎn

verb

Meanings

1 to have a bitter falling-out
2 to drop all pretense of civility
3 to tear each other apart

Characters

broken / to break

Examples

他们俩最后撕破脸了。

Tāmen liǎ zuìhòu sīpò liǎn le.

The two of them ended up in an all-out fallout.

为了钱兄弟撕破脸不值得。

Wèile qián xiōngdì sīpò liǎn bù zhíde.

Brothers falling out over money isn't worth it.

他不愿意跟老板撕破脸。

Tā bú yuànyì gēn lǎobǎn sīpò liǎn.

He doesn't want to burn bridges with his boss.

Tips

culture

脸 ('face') in Chinese idiom = social dignity. 撕破脸 literally 'tear one's face open' means abandoning all mutual face-saving, which is a major rupture in Chinese social code. Before 撕破脸 both sides still pretend; after, the relationship is effectively over.

usage

Common in the fixed phrase 撕破脸皮. Often paired with 跟/和 + person: 跟他撕破脸. CC-CEDICT renders it nicely as 'to have an acrimonious falling-out / to shed all pretense of cordiality'.

Stroke Order

撕 sī

破 pò

脸 liǎn