死要面子活受罪 sǐ yào miàn zi huó shòu zuì

to go through hell for the sake of keeping up appearances (idiom)

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. to go through hell for the sake of keeping up appearances (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
死 sǐ HSK 4
to die; extremely; inflexible
要 yào HSK 2
to want; going to (as future auxiliary); must
面 miàn HSK 1
face; surface; aspect
子 zi HSK 1
(noun suffix); son; child
活 huó HSK 4
to live; alive; living
受 shòu HSK 4
(passive marker); to receive; to accept
罪 zuì HSK 6
crime; guilt; fault