Englishsave face
Meaning: To avoid humiliation and keep one's dignity or reputation.
Example: “The minister resigned to save face before the report came out.”
Origin: The pair is more lopsided than it looks. "Lose face" is a direct calque of Chinese, translating expressions built on the idea of losing one's 面子 (miànzi) — the standing, dignity, and social credit a person holds in the eyes of others, a concept with far more explicit weight in Chinese social life than any single English word carries. English speakers in the China trade coined the translation in the 1800s, and it is attested by the 1830s. "Save face" then came about the other way around: English built it by analogy from "lose face," and it does not correspond to any single Chinese phrase. So one half of the pair is borrowed and the other is a domestic invention modeled on the borrowing — which is why the concept feels imported while the phrasing feels ordinary.
More English idioms
- stick one's nose in To try to find out about someone else's private business.
- stick out like a sore thumb Not to blend in; to be obvious and prominent or easily seen.
- sweat blood To put out a great deal of effort; to work very, very hard.
- sweep someone off their feet To overwhelm someone, often causing him or her to fall in love.
- talk someone's ear off To bore someone with one's unending talk.
- toe the line To follow the rules; to do what is expected of one.
Explore another collection: Compliments & Insults
Compliments and insults from around the world, from the sweet to the savage.
- ¡Qué cara más dura! You've got incredible nerve and cheek — the audacity is almost impressive.
- Es un/una pesado/a A dreadful bore — their company feels like carrying extra weight.
- Más terco/a que una mula Hopelessly obstinate — no argument, fact, or force of nature will shift their position.
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