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以淚洗面

简以泪洗面 · 繁以淚洗面

Mandarin · pinyin yǐ lèi xǐ miàn

to bathe one's face in tears (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
淚: Look up this written character
洗: xǐ · wash, rinse; clean, purify
面: miàn · face; surface; plane; side, dimension; Kangxi radical 176
泪: lèi · tears; weep, cry

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–4–3–4 · yi3 lei4 xi3 mian4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

以淚洗面 · find source passages ↗ · 以泪洗面 · find source passages ↗

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(figurative) to grieve greatly; to be filled with sorrow

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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