# 面 front surface / face

(terrorist) + (big box) + ??? (???)
★★★★★
9 strokes

## Onyomi

MEN |

## Mnemonic

| there seems to be a LADDER in the center of this kanji! So we can say . . The terrorist MEN climbed up the ladder onto the surface of the big box (a Walmart) and said they'd blow it up unless the Government did the Humpty.

## Kunyomi

めん | 2 meanings 1) ENTIRE surface of a 3-dimensional object, as opposed to 表, which is the front surface of a 2-D object (deeeeyammn!!), 2) the head or face - usually used in the context of expressions like 'meet face to face' or 'dare you to say it to my face!'. In other words, you wouldn't tell a drunk model, 'Hey there, nice 面！’ ★★☆☆☆
づら | Yakuza slang for face: 'I can't believe you'd dare show your face around here! ' ABU ★☆☆☆☆

## Jukugo

面白*い(おもしろい) | interesting ★★★★★ SARC FP 面 (front surface / face) + 白 (white) = 面白*い (interesting) interesting, (in a good way) but also can mean funny (as in, laughing at you!) this deliberate ambiguity being a big thing with Japanese Sarcasm. Although in this case, fully half the time people are being serious.
面倒臭い(めんどうくさい) | pain in the ass ★★★★★ 面倒 (trouble, petty bullshit) + 臭 (stinky and dumb xxx!) = 面倒臭い (pain in the ass) annoying, a pain in the ass.
画面(がめん) | screen ★★★☆☆ 画 (a drawing) + 面 (front surface / face) = 画面 (screen) screen - both movie screen and computer/tv screen
地面(じめん) | ground ★★☆☆☆ 地 (area) + 面 (front surface / face) = 地面 (ground) the ground/floor (applies both inside and outside)
面目を保つ(めんぼくをたもつ) | save face ★☆☆☆☆ CCW 面 (front surface / face) + 目 (eye) + 保 (guarantee/maintain ) = 面目を保つ (save face) to save face (opposite: 面目を失う　（めんぼくをうしなう））
表面(ひょうめん) | exterior ☆☆☆☆☆ 表 (express) + 面 (front surface / face) = 表面 (exterior) the exterior, the surface - unlike 面 (men), 表面 is more technical - usually used by architects or craftspeople. Or, for instance, to describe a "skin" you'd put on a polygon 3d character.

## Synonyms

annoying 面倒くさい 厄介な 煩わしい ややこしい
dummy, idiot, fool, doo doo dumb バカ 愚か 間抜け バカ面 ボケ あほ
map, diagram 地図 図面 図表
on the other hand その反面、xxx xxx一方 他方で yyy
surface 表 面 面 表面
to confront, to face 向く 向き合う 面する 対向 臨む
to take care お世話 面倒みる