Face & Facial Features in Chinese 脸
liǎn
Face / facial features in Chinese are 脸 / 五官 (liǎn / wǔ guān).
Also searched for as: face, eyes, nose, mouth.
Look closer: the face. 15 essential the face words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
The word for face in Chinese is 脸 (liǎn), and like English it carries the idea of reputation: 丢脸 (diū liǎn) means to lose face or be embarrassed. This vocabulary helps you describe people, understand compliments and explain problems to a doctor. Watch out for pairs that are easy to confuse, such as 眉毛 (méi mao), eyebrows, and 睫毛 (jié máo), eyelashes, and enjoy charming words like 酒窝 (jiǔ wō), dimples, literally 'wine hollows'.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 脸 | liǎn | face |
| 额头 | é tóu | forehead |
| 眉毛 | méi mao | eyebrow |
| 眼睛 | yǎn jing | eye |
| 睫毛 | jié máo | eyelash |
| 鼻子 | bí zi | nose |
| 嘴巴 | zuǐ ba | mouth |
| 嘴唇 | zuǐ chún | lips |
| 牙齿 | yá chǐ | teeth |
| 舌头 | shé tou | tongue |
| 耳朵 | ěr duo | ear |
| 脸颊 | liǎn jiá | cheek |
| 下巴 | xià ba | chin |
| 胡子 | hú zi | beard; moustache |
| 酒窝 | jiǔ wō | dimple |
Usage tips
- 嘴 (zuǐ) and 嘴巴 (zuǐ ba) both mean mouth; 嘴巴 is a little more colloquial and is what you'll often hear when people talk to children.
- 胡子 (hú zi) covers beards and moustaches alike. Shaving is 刮胡子 (guā hú zi) and growing one is 留胡子 (liú hú zi).
- Comments on facial features are common and friendly in Chinese: big eyes, 眼睛大 (yǎn jing dà), and a small face, 脸小 (liǎn xiǎo), are both considered compliments.
Common mistakes
- Learners copy 'she has big eyes' as 她有大眼睛; it's more natural to make the feature the topic and follow it with an adjective: 她眼睛很大 (tā yǎn jing hěn dà).
- 舌头 (shé tou), 眉毛 (méi mao) and 下巴 (xià ba) have a light neutral tone on the second syllable; giving it a full tone, like shé tóu, sounds stilted.
Mini dialogue
- A你看，这是我妹妹小时候的照片。Nǐ kàn, zhè shì wǒ mèi mei xiǎo shí hou de zhào piàn.Look, this is a photo of my younger sister as a child.
- B好可爱！她眼睛好大，睫毛也很长。Hǎo kě ài! Tā yǎn jing hǎo dà, jié máo yě hěn cháng.So cute! Her eyes are so big, and her eyelashes are long too.
- A对，她一笑就有两个酒窝。Duì, tā yī xiào jiù yǒu liǎng ge jiǔ wō.Yes, and whenever she smiles she gets two dimples.
- B她的脸跟你很像，特别是鼻子和嘴巴。Tā de liǎn gēn nǐ hěn xiàng, tè bié shì bí zi hé zuǐ ba.Her face is a lot like yours, especially the nose and mouth.
Example sentences
- 她的脸很红。Her face is red.
- 他额头上有汗。There's sweat on his forehead.
- 她的眉毛很浓。She has thick eyebrows.
- 你的眼睛很漂亮。You have beautiful eyes.
- 她的睫毛很长。She has long eyelashes.
- 我的鼻子不通气。My nose is blocked.
- 张开嘴巴。Open your mouth.
- 天冷嘴唇很干。My lips get dry in the cold.
- 他的牙齿很白。His teeth are very white.
- 太辣了，舌头都麻了！So spicy my tongue's gone numb!
- 我的耳朵冻红了。My ears are red from the cold.
- 奶奶亲了亲我的脸颊。Grandma kissed me on the cheek.
- 他下巴上有胡子。He has a beard on his chin.
- 爸爸每天早上刮胡子。Dad shaves every morning.
- 她笑起来有酒窝。She has dimples when she smiles.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The The face speaking island has 8 everyday questions about the face to prepare your own answers to.