面上

miànshang

phrase #21,473

Meanings

1 on the surface
2 outwardly
3 for the sake of appearances
4 on someone's account

Characters

face / surface / side

on / above / upper

Examples

HSK 4

看在我的面上，就原谅他这一次吧。

Kàn zài wǒ de miànshang, jiù yuánliàng tā zhè yī cì ba.

For my sake, please forgive him just this once.

HSK 5

面上看起来没什么问题，但内部矛盾很深。

Miànshang kànqǐlái méishénme wèntí, dàn nèibù máodùn hěn shēn.

On the surface it looks fine, but there are deep internal conflicts.

Tips

usage

面上 has two distinct uses: (1) on the surface / outwardly (indicating something is superficially true but not substantively); (2) 看在…的面上 means 'for the sake of someone / out of regard for someone'. Context determines which meaning applies.

Stroke Order

面 miàn

上 shàng