没面子

沒面子

méimiànzi

phrase

Meanings

1 to lose face
2 to be embarrassed
3 to have no prestige

Characters

Examples

在朋友面前被批评,他觉得很没面子。

Zài péngyǒu miànqián bèi pīpíng, tā juéde hěn méi miànzi.

Being criticized in front of friends, he felt he'd lost face.

你这样做让我很没面子。

Nǐ zhèyàng zuò ràng wǒ hěn méi miànzi.

You doing this really makes me look bad.

Tips

culture

面子 ('face' = social prestige) is the inverse of 丢面子 ('lose face'). 没面子 emphasizes the resulting state — being without face — rather than the act of losing it. Saving face (给面子, 留面子) is a major social lubricant in Chinese culture.

Stroke Order

没 méi

面 miàn

子 zǐ