脸 (liǎn): face
脸 (liǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “face.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺼ (semantic) and 佥 (phonetic). It ranks #615 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 脸 flesh. Its radical form 月 (moon) appears in many related characters such as 月 (yuè, moon, month), 有 (yǒu, to have), 朋 (péng, friend).
Definitions
- face
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 脸 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 脸
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 丢脸 | diū liǎn | to lose face |
| 脸部 | liǎn bù | face |
| 脸蛋 | liǎn dàn | cheek |
| 笑脸 | xiào liǎn | smiling face |
| 脸红 | liǎn hóng | to blush |
| 不要脸 | bù yào liǎn | to have no sense of shame |
| 脸颊 | liǎn jiá | cheek |
| 脸庞 | liǎn páng | face |
| 鬼脸 | guǐ liǎn | wry face |
| 脸孔 | liǎn kǒng | face |
| 脸皮 | liǎn pí | face |
| 赏脸 | shǎng liǎn | (polite) do me the honor |
| 嘴脸 | zuǐ liǎn | features, face (esp. derogatorily) |
| 翻脸 | fān liǎn | to fall out with sb |
| 露脸 | lòu liǎn | to show one's face |
脸 appears in 100 compound words: 30 as the first character, 62 as the last, and 8 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 脸 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (9)
to be black and blue in the face; with a bloody nose and swollen face; to suffer a major setback
lit. to apply gold leaf to the face of a statue (idiom); fig. to talk up; to extol the virtues of (oneself or sb else)
to be black and blue in the face; with a bloody nose and swollen face; to suffer a major setback
Showing 8 of 9 idioms containing 脸.
Example Sentences
人脸识别技术已经广泛应用于手机解锁和支付验证。
Rénliǎn shíbié jìshù yǐjīng guǎngfàn yìngyòng yú shǒujī jiěsuǒ hé zhīfù yànzhèng.
Facial recognition technology is already widely used for phone unlocking and payment verification.
酒局洗脸球星尪 刘雨柔暴怒:孩子不是我一人
jiǔ jú xǐ liǎn qiú xīng 尪 liú yǔ róu bào nù hái zǐ bù shì wǒ yī rén
Liu Yurou was furious: I am not the only child in the country
经典赛》王建民撞脸SJ希澈的飘发照 韩媒也关注
jīng diǎn sài wáng jiàn mín zhuàng liǎn xī chè de piāo fā zhào hán méi yě guān zhù
Classic" Wang Jianmin hit SJ Heechul's hair photo in the face Korean media also paid attention
Meta 智慧眼镜传加入脸部辨识功能,隐私风险急升高
zhì huì yǎn jìng chuán jiā rù liǎn bù biàn shí gōng néng , yǐn sī fēng xiǎn jí shēng gāo
Meta Smart Glasses Reportedly Add Facial Recognition Feature, Privacy Risks Soar
...秘2026妆容关键字 妆前急救“5分钟小脸”诀窍公开
. . . mì zhuāng róng guān jiàn zì zhuāng qián jí jiù fēn zhōng xiǎo liǎn jué qiào gōng kāi
Secret 2026 Makeup Keywords: Revealing the "5-Minute Face-Slimming" Trick for Last-Minute Makeup Rescue
.....梨山工寮遭纵火 民众拍照赫见“鬼面笑脸”
. . . . . lí shān gōng 寮 zāo zòng huǒ mín zhòng pāi zhào hè jiàn guǐ miàn xiào liǎn
Arson at Lishan Work Camp: Residents Photograph Mysterious "Ghostly Smiling Face"
什么事？干嘛一脸凶巴巴的。
Shénmeshì? gànmá yī liǎn xiōng bābā de.
What's the matter? You look very angry.
你脸色看起来好苍白。你没事吧？
Nǐ liǎnsè kànqǐlai hǎo cāngbái. nǐ méishì ba?
You look very pale. Are you OK?
要是脸书上没有你，你就不存在！
Yàoshi Liǎnshū shàng méiyǒu nǐ, nǐ jiù bù cúnzài!
If you're not on Facebook, you don't exist!
假如你认识这张脸，请拨打110！
Jiǎrú nǐ rènshi zhè zhāng liǎn, qǐng bōdǎ yāo yāo líng!
If you recognize this person, call 110!
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 脸 (liǎn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 脸 and 验?
How many strokes does 脸 have?
What is the radical of 脸?
What are the components of 脸?
What are common words containing 脸?
What characters sound the same as 脸 (liǎn)?
Is 脸 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 脸 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.