DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
素面朝天
Mandarin · pinyin sù miàn cháo tiān
Meanings
- lit. to present oneself confidently to the emperor, without makeup (as did the sister of Yang Guifei 楊貴妃 Yáng Guì fēi) (idiom)
- fig. (of a woman) to show one's natural features, without makeup
- to present oneself just as one is, without artifice
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Mandarin tones
4–4–2–1 · su4 mian4 chao2 tian1
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.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.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
sou3 min6 ciu4 tin1
Cantonese word readings for 素面朝天. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
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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
- (literary, historical) to present oneself to the emperor without any makeup
- (figurative, of a woman) to wear no makeup; to show one's natural features; to present oneself just as one is
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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