脸 (liǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “face”. It is written from 月 (moon; month) and 佥 (all; everyone (classical); in 俭 it carries the sound), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “face”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
月 + 佥
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分：脸 = 月（肉月）+ 佥（繁体 臉 = 肉 + 僉）；Unicode U+8138 radical 130 (肉)；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0–3 笔为月(4 画)，4–10 笔为佥(7 画)，合计 11 画
Memory aid
月 on the left here is the "flesh" part used for body words; 佥 on the right means "everyone". The part of your body that everyone sees first is your face.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 脸色liǎn sècomplexion; the look on someone's face脸 = liǎn
- 脸庞liǎn pángface; the outline of someone's face脸 = liǎn
- 绷脸běng liǎnto keep a straight face; to pull a long face脸 = liǎn
Go deeper
All readings
face
face; front of something; (figurative) self-respect, as in "losing face"
头的前部，从额到下巴的部分；也比喻面子、情面。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 脸色liǎn sècomplexion; the look on someone's face脸 = liǎn
- 脸庞liǎn pángface; the outline of someone's face脸 = liǎn
- 绷脸běng liǎnto keep a straight face; to pull a long face脸 = liǎn
Sound component
佥 family
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 脸 mean?
脸 (liǎn) means face; front of something; (figurative) self-respect, as in "losing face".
How do you pronounce 脸?
It is pronounced liǎn.
What parts is 脸 made of?
月 (moon; month) and 佥 (all; everyone (classical); in 俭 it carries the sound), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分：脸 = 月（肉月）+ 佥（繁体 臉 = 肉 + 僉）；Unicode U+8138 radical 130 (肉)；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0–3 笔为月(4 画)，4–10 笔为佥(7 画)，合计 11 画. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 脸 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 脸?
肉. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 脸?
Common ones are 脸色 and 脸庞. The reading of 脸 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.