面

麪
miàn
#74 most
frequent character
face, surface, outside, side
noun

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

面 draws a face outline 囗 with an eye 目 inside. That gave the first meaning, 'a person's face'. It grew to 'surface', 'side, aspect', and then to 'wheat flour' by sound loan, and from there 'noodles'.

Drawn as: face outline; eye

面 as a component in other characters

meaning1 character
靥
sound2 characters
缅腼
picture1 character
湎

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Example Sentences

他的脸上有一个笑容。
tāde liǎn shàngyǒu yígè xiàoróng 。
There is a smile on his face.
这块面很滑。
zhè kuài miàn hěn huá 。
This surface is very smooth.
我喜欢吃面条。
wǒ xǐhuān chī miàntiáo 。
I like to eat noodles.

Same Characters, Different Readings

面miàn
face, surface, outside, side
面miàn
face, surface, outside, side

Words with similar meanings

脸liǎn
face
More commonly used to refer specifically to the human face.
外表wàibiǎo
appearance
Refers to the outer surface of something, more general than '面'.
表面biǎomiàn
surface
Specifically refers to the outer layer of an object.

Homophones

面miàn
face, surface, outside, side
面miàn
face, surface, outside, side

Words Starting With 面

面包miàn bāo
"bread
面条miàn tiáo
noodles
面临miàn lín
to face sth; to be confronted with
面对miàn duì
to confront; to face
面积miàn jī
surface area

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