Face Bùyàoliǎn Chòu Amplify 不要脸 Shameless Pride Literally

不要脸

bùyàoliǎn

Shameless, without pride. Literally “doesn’t want face.” Face is a central concept in Chinese culture and entire volumes have been written in attempts to fully explain its nuances, but suffice to say that losing face is bad, giving face is good, and not wanting face is unspeakably shameful—thus saying that someone is bùyàoliǎn is far more insulting than the English word “shameless” and conveys a complex mix of being somehow subhuman, pathetic, and so lacking in self-respect that you would willingly do things that no one else would be caught dead doing. Also used by women to mean “disgusting” and sometimes with 臭 chòu (cho, rhymes with “show”), which means “stinking,” in front to amplify it to 臭不要脸 chòu bùyào liǎn, or “absolutely disgusting.” Another common way to amplify the expression is to say 死不要脸 sǐ bù yào liǎn (sih boo yow lyinn), literally, “You don’t want face even when you die.”