面

Tap the pinyin to hear it

face; side; surface; aspect; top; classifier for objects with flat surfaces such as drums, mirrors, flags etc

Sound it out + + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Pictograph (象形字)

A person's face

face-to-face · Heisig RSH #1406

百 hundred + eyeball

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
面包	miàn bāo	bread; CL:片[pian4],塊\|块[kuai4]
见面	jiàn miàn	to meet; to see each other; CL:次[ci4]
面条儿	miàn tiáo r	erhua variant of 麵條\|面条[mian4 tiao2]
面人儿	miàn rén r	dough figurine
地面水	dì miàn shuǐ	surface water
面子	miàn zi	outer surface; the outside of sth; social prestige; face
面子	miàn zi	(medicinal) powder
一面	yī miàn	one side; one aspect; simultaneously... (and...); one's whole face
市面	shì miàn	the marketplace (i.e. the world of business and commerce)
水面	shuǐ miàn	water surface
面市	miàn shì	to hit the market (of a new product)
头面	tóu miàn	head ornament (in former times); (literary) head; face; looks
不体面	bù tǐ miàn	to not appear to be decent or respectful; shameful
头面人物	tóu miàn rén wù	leading figure; bigwig
市面上	shì miàn shàng	on the market
面生	miàn shēng	(of a person) to look unfamiliar
白面儿	bái miàn r	heroin
地面	dì miàn	floor; ground; surface
面儿	miàn r	cover; outside
马面	Mǎ Miàn	Horse-Face, one of the two guardians of the underworld in Chinese mythology

These characters use 面 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
面 sound part	miàn	face; surface, side; plane, dimension
缅	miǎn	distant, remote; to think of
腼	miǎn	modest, bashful