Chinese word

面红耳赤

Pronunciation

Pinyinmiàn hóng ěr chì

Meaning

  • adjectivered-faced

Example

被老板骂后，他气得面红耳赤。bèi láo bǎn mà hòu tā qì de miàn hóng ěr chì

After being scolded by his boss, he was red-faced with anger.

Illustration for 面红耳赤 (red-faced)

More examples

听到中奖消息，他激动得面红耳赤。tīng dào zhòng jiǎng xiāo xī tā jī dòng de miàn hóng ěr chì

When he heard the news that he had won, he was so excited that his face turned red.

Core concept

A strong emotional flush spreads across the face and ears, making the feeling visible.

Common phrases

  • 气得面红耳赤qì de miàn hóng ěr chì

    so angry that one's face turns red

  • 激动得面红耳赤jī dòng de miàn hóng ěr chì

    so excited that one's face turns red

Similar words

脸红liǎn hóng: Turning red in the face as an outward sign of a feeling.
害羞hài xiū: Feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable around other people.
生气shēng qì: Being filled with anger toward a person or situation.

Definition in Chinese

脸和耳朵都变红，常用来形容因生气或害羞而脸色变得非常红。liǎn hé ér duǒ dōu biàn hóng cháng yòng lái xíng róng yīn shēng qì huò hài xiū ér liǎn sè biàn de fēi cháng hóng

Word origin

面 (miàn, "face") + 红 (hóng, "red") + 耳 (ěr, "ear") + 赤 (chì, "deep red") creates a four-character picture of redness appearing on both the face and ears.

Usage tips

  • The surrounding cause usually shows whether the visible flush comes from anger, embarrassment, or another strong feeling, so the idiom does not name the emotion by itself.

Other meanings

  • blushverb
  • turn redverb

Opposites

  • 面色苍白miàn sè cāng báipale-facedadjective
  • 面无血色miàn wú xuè sèwhite-facedadjective

Word lists with this word