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面红耳赤
面红耳赤
面红耳赤
面红耳赤
面红耳赤
面红耳赤
面红耳赤
面红耳赤

面红耳赤 — “To be flushed in the face and ears”

面红耳赤 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be flushed in the face and ears”. Typically due to strong emotions such as excitement, anger, shame, or embarrassment. Literally, “Face red, ears scarlet”.

Frequency

面红耳赤 Pronunciation and Pinyin

面红耳赤 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order
CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
面
miàn9face, surface, side, flour, noodles
红
hóng6red, popular, auspicious
耳
ěr6ear, hearing, handle, only
赤
chì7red, bare, sincere

Example Sentence with 面红耳赤

听到老师表扬他,小明害羞得面红耳赤,不好意思地低下了头。
Upon hearing the teacher praise him, Xiao Ming blushed scarlet with shyness, lowering his head in embarrassment.

Origin and Story of 面红耳赤

During the Qing Dynasty, there was a prodigal son who was determined to mend his ways, giving himself the alias "Escaped from Death." One day, he encountered a man on the street selling a novel. Curious, he saw it was titled "Notes on Nine Lives," part of *Bizarre Happenings of Twenty Years*.

As he read, his face and ears turned scarlet (面红耳赤), and he became utterly absorbed, his mind wandering with the story. He was so captivated that he later adapted this book into a serialized chapter novel for publication.

Idioms Related to 面红耳赤

Antonyms of 面红耳赤

  • miàn面bù不gǎi改sè色remain calm and composed

More idioms starting with 面

  • miàn面bù不gǎi改róng容remain calm and composed
  • miàn面zhēng争tíng庭lùn论frankly argue publicly
  • miàn面cóng从hòu后yán言Outwardly agree, secretly criticize
  • miàn面cóng从bèi背yán言agree to one's face, criticize behind back
  • miàn面cóng从fù腹fěi诽outwardly comply, inwardly criticize
  • miàn面cóng从fù腹fēi非outwardly comply but inwardly dissent
  • miàn面sì似xuē靴pí皮face full of deep wrinkles
  • miàn面lěng冷yán言héng横stern-faced and aggressive in talk
  • miàn面běi北méi眉nán南estranged and refusing to acknowledge each other
  • miàn面mìng命ěr耳tí提give earnest, painstaking instruction
  • miàn面mìng命ěr耳xùn训give earnest face-to-face instruction

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Questions about 面红耳赤

What does 面红耳赤 mean?

面红耳赤 (miàn hóng ěr chì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be flushed in the face and ears”.

How do you pronounce 面红耳赤?

面红耳赤 is pronounced miàn hóng ěr chì in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 面红耳赤 literally mean?

Literally, 面红耳赤 means “Face red, ears scarlet”. It is used to mean “to be flushed in the face and ears”.

Where does 面红耳赤 come from?

面红耳赤 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.

What is the Chinese definition of 面红耳赤?

脸笔耳朵都红了。形容因激动或羞惭而脸色发红。

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  • Illustration for 面红耳赤
    miàn面hóng红ěr耳chì赤
    Blush / Turn red with embarrassment

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