Chinese word

脸红

Pronunciation

Pinyinliǎn hóng

Meaning

  • verbblush

Example

说错话后，他脸红了。shuō cuò huà hòu tā liǎn hóng le

After saying the wrong thing, he blushed.

Illustration for 脸红 (blush)

More examples

一见到他，她就脸红起来。yí jiàn dào tā tā jiù liǎn hóng qǐ lái

When she sees him, she immediately begins to blush.

Core concept

A visible flush that lets a sudden feeling or bodily reaction show on the face.

Common phrases

  • 脸红了liǎn hóng le

    turn red

  • 脸红起来liǎn hóng qǐ lái

    begin to blush

  • 脸红得很厉害liǎn hóng de hěn lì hài

    blush badly

Similar words

发红fā hóng: To grow red in color, whether describing skin or a thing.
变红biàn hóng: To change color and become red.
脸颊发红liǎn jiá fā hóng: To develop redness on the cheek area.

Definition in Chinese

因害羞、尴尬、激动或生理反应而面部出现红色或泛红的状态，常用于描述某人瞬间或刚发生的表情变化。yīn hài xiū gān gà jī dòng huò shēng lí fǎn yìng ér miàn bù chū xiàn hóng sè huò fàn hóng de zhuàng tài cháng yòng yú miáo shù mǒu rén shùn jiān huò gāng fā shēng de biǎo qíng biàn huà

Word origin

The compound 脸 (liǎn, "face") + 红 (hóng, "red") directly describes a face turning red, giving the verb its literal meaning.

Usage tips

  • English speakers often connect blushing mainly with embarrassment, but this word also covers visible redness caused by excitement or a physical reaction.

Other meanings

  • reddenverb

Opposites

  • 面不改色miàn bù gǎi sèkeep a calm faceverb
  • 面无表情miàn wú biǎo qínghave a blank expressionverb

Word lists with this word