面 (miàn) · face

Meanings

1 face
2 surface; side
3 noodles
4 measure word for flat objects such as mirrors, flags and walls

Characters

面

miàn

face; surface; noodles

Originally depicted a face in profile.

Examples

HSK 1

这个问题有很多面。

Zhège wèntí yǒu hěnduō miàn.

This issue has many sides.

HSK 3

他的面前有一碗面。

Tā de miànqián yǒu yì wǎn miàn.

There is a bowl of noodles in front of him.

HSK 5

墙上挂着一面镜子。

Qiángshàng guà zhe yí miàn jìngzi.

A mirror hangs on the wall.

Tips

usage

面 meaning 'face' is more formal/literary. In daily speech, 脸 is more common for the physical face.

grammar

面 is also used as a suffix for directions: 上面, 下面, 前面, 后面, 里面, 外面.

Components

pictograph

面 miàn

face; surface

Self-component. Pictograph of a human face: outer frame is cheekbones and jawline, inner 目-like element is the eye centred in the face. Already a single visual unit in oracle bones - unanalyzable into productive sub-parts. As Kangxi radical #176 it heads facial words like 靥 dimple, 靦 shy-faced. The 'noodles' meaning came from merging the simplified 麵 into 面 in the 1956 reform.

Radical

Face Kangxi #176

A small but well-defined radical built around the human face. As an indexing radical it groups characters describing facial features and surfaces (靥, 靦), but it appears infrequently as a productive component - most face-related vocabulary now uses 月-based 脸 instead. The frame surrounds the eye 目 with the cheek-and-jaw outline.