面如土色 — “To turn ghastly pale or ashen with fright”
面如土色 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to turn ghastly pale or ashen with fright”. To look terrified and drained of color. Literally, “face like earth color”.
面如土色 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 面miàn
- 如rú
- 土tǔ
- 色sè
面如土色 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 面如土色
Origin and Story of 面如土色
During the Southern Song Dynasty, a scholar named Yu Liang traveled 8,000 li (approximately 4,000 kilometers) on foot to the capital, Hangzhou, to take the imperial examination. However, he failed to pass.
Penniless and dejected, he went to the West Lake, composed a poignant poem, 'Que Qiao Xian' (Magpie Bridge Immortals), and prepared to end his life, but was fortunately rescued.
Meanwhile, the retired emperor, having a profound dream, recognized Yu Liang's exceptional talent. He immediately sent imperial officials to find Yu Liang at the inn where he was staying.
The innkeeper, an old woman named Sun Po, was so startled and terrified by the sudden and unexpected arrival of these imperial officials that her face turned ghastly pale, ashen like soil (面如土色). Following this turn of events, Yu Liang was appointed to a high official position by the emperor.
Idioms Related to 面如土色
Antonyms of 面如土色
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
Questions about 面如土色
- What does 面如土色 mean?
- 面如土色 (miàn rú tǔ sè) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to turn ghastly pale or ashen with fright”.
- How do you pronounce 面如土色?
- 面如土色 is pronounced miàn rú tǔ sè in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 面如土色 literally mean?
- Literally, 面如土色 means “face like earth color”. It is used to mean “to turn ghastly pale or ashen with fright”.
- Where does 面如土色 come from?
- 面如土色 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 面如土色?
- 脸色呈灰白色。形容惊恐之极。