Chinese word

厚脸皮

Pronunciation

Pinyinhòu liǎn pí

Meaning

  • adjectiveshameless

Example

她一点也不怕别人说她厚脸皮。tā yì diǎn yě bú pà bié rén shuō tā hòu liǎn pí

She is not afraid at all of people saying she is shameless.

Illustration for 厚脸皮 (shameless)

More examples

他这种厚脸皮的行为让大家很反感。tā zhè zhǒng hòu liǎn pí de xíng wéi ràng dà jiā hěn fán gǎn

This kind of shameless behavior on his part makes everyone feel disgusted.

Core concept

A person keeps asking or insisting because social disapproval feels too weak to make that person retreat.

Common phrases

  • 厚脸皮的行为hòu liǎn pí de xíng wéi

    shameless behavior

  • 不怕别人说厚脸皮bú pà bié rén shuō hòu liǎn pí

    not be afraid of being called shameless

Similar words

无耻wú chǐ: Having no sense of shame and behaving boldly in front of others.
厚颜无耻hòu yán wú chǐ: Showing extreme shamelessness by acting boldly without any embarrassment.
脸皮厚liǎn pí hòu: Showing a thick-skinned attitude when asking for things or pressing a point.

Definition in Chinese

用来形容不在意面子或羞耻，能厚着脸皮请求或坚持自己的要求。yòng lái xíng róng bú zài yì miàn zi huò xiū chǐ néng hòu zhe liǎn pí qǐng qiú huò jiān chí zì jǐ de yāo qiú

Word origin

厚 (hòu, "thick") + 脸 (liǎn, "face") + 皮 (pí, "skin") presents a thick layer on the face as a metaphor for ignoring shame while asking or persisting.

Usage tips

  • In casual Chinese conversation, the word can be playful or self-deprecating among friends, even though it can sound insulting when aimed at another person.

Other meanings

  • brazenadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word