出面
chūmiàn · HSK 6
appear personally
🚪🙋 出 = exit + 面 = face; literally 'show your face' = step up in person
Compound decomposition: 出 (chū, go out) + 面 (miàn, face). To 'put your face out' means to appear personally or act on behalf of someone. Same 面 as in 见面 (meet face-to-face).
出 — foot 止 emerging from enclosure 凵
出 is a pictograph showing a foot or plant stepping out of a hollow or enclosure, depicting the act of going forth. The original sense of 'coming out' or 'emerging' has remained stable since oracle bone script. It now broadly means 'to exit, go out, or produce.'
面 — enclosure 囗 + 自 (nose/face inside)
Originally a pictograph showing a face framed by an outline, with 自 (nose) inside representing the central feature of the face. The early meaning was 'face,' which extended to 'surface,' 'side,' and 'aspect.' In simplified Chinese, 面 also absorbed 麵, adding the meaning 'flour/noodles.'