Meaning of 面临
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to face sth; to be confronted with
How to use 面临
面临 is a fairly formal verb used for serious situations like problems, challenges, choices, or danger. It usually takes an abstract noun as its object. Example: 公司面临很大的压力。(Gōngsī miànlín hěn dà de yālì.) The company is facing a lot of pressure.
面 (miàn) means face, and 临 (lín) means to arrive or be close to. When something arrives right in front of your face, you are facing it: 面临.
Common mistake: Learners often use 面临 for physically facing a direction or a person, but for that you need 面对 (miànduì) or 对着 (duìzhe), as in 面对观众 (face the audience). Also do not write 临 as 监 (jiān); the two look similar on the right side but are different characters.
面临 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
面 miàn · face · 9 strokes
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临 lín · to face · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 面临.
| 见面 | jiànmiàn | to meet; to see each other |
| 面包 | miànbāo | bread |
| 面条儿 | miàntiáor | erhua variant of 麵條|面条[mian4 tiao2] |
| 面前 | miànqián | in front of; facing |
| 方面 | fāngmiàn | respect; aspect |
| 对面 | duìmiàn | opposite; across (the street etc); directly in front of one; up ahead |
| 方便面 | fāngbiànmiàn | instant noodles |
| 里面 | lǐmiàn | inside; interior |
| 外面 | wàimiàn | outside (also pr. [wai4 mian5] for this sense); surface |
| 上面 | shàngmiàn | on top of; above-mentioned |
| 后面 | hòumiàn | the back; the rear; the last bit; behind; near the end; at the back |
| 下面 | xiàmiàn | below; under |
Questions about 面临
What does 面临 mean?
面临 (miànlín) means "to face sth; to be confronted with" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 面临?
面临 is made of 2 characters: 面 (9 strokes), 临 (9 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 面临 an HSK word?
Yes. 面临 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 面临 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 面临 is written 面臨.
What is the difference between 面临 and 面对?
面临 describes being confronted with a situation that has come to you, such as 面临危险 (facing danger). 面对 stresses your active attitude toward facing something, such as 勇敢地面对困难 (bravely face difficulties). 面对 can also mean physically facing someone, while 面临 cannot.
What words commonly go after 面临?
Common objects include 挑战 (tiǎozhàn, challenge), 问题 (wèntí, problem), 选择 (xuǎnzé, choice), 危机 (wēijī, crisis), and 困难 (kùnnan, difficulty). You will often see it in news and formal writing, for example 面临失业 (facing unemployment).