皮笑肉不笑 pí xiào ròu bù xiào

to smile insincerely; to put on a fake smile (idiom)

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. to smile insincerely
  2. 2. to put on a fake smile (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
皮 pí HSK 3
skin; leather; naughty
笑 xiào HSK 2
smile; laugh; old variant of 笑xiào
肉 ròu HSK 2
meat; flesh; pulp (of a fruit)
不 bù HSK 1
not; no; (negative prefix)
笑 xiào HSK 2
smile; laugh; old variant of 笑xiào