Source: Wiktionary — "面子" (miànzi)
- Title: 面子 (Wiktionary Chinese-language entry, miànzi)
- Publication: Wiktionary (en.wiktionary.org)
- URL: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/面子
- Type: tertiary (crowd-sourced dictionary); stance neutral
- Accessed: 2026-09-03
Extract
- Etymology: compound of 面 (miàn, "face; side; surface") + 子 (zi, a common Mandarin nominal suffix, here not literally "child/son" but a noun-forming particle).
- Mandarin pronunciation: miànzi (Hanyu Pinyin); IPA /mi̯ɛn⁵¹ d͡z̥ɹ̩¹/.
- Senses given: (1) the physical/outer sense, "outer part; outside; face" (i.e. the plain, non-figurative sense of 面 itself); (2) the culturally significant social sense — "reputation; face; self-respect; dignity," illustrated by 愛面子 (ài miànzi, "to be sensitive about one's reputation"); (3) an emotional/interpersonal sense — "feelings; sensibilities," illustrated by 給他留面子 (gěi tā liú miànzi, "to spare his feelings").
- The entry cross-references the English Wikipedia article "Face (social concept)."
Gaps
- This is a tertiary crowd-sourced source, not a primary Chinese lexicographic dictionary (e.g. Xiandai Hanyu Cidian) — no primary Chinese dictionary was consulted this session, a stated gap (see the word page's Gaps).
- Does not itself draw the mianzi/lian distinction — see journalofsociology-qi-2011-face-chinese-concept-global-sociology.md for that.