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面目全非

Mandarin · pinyin miàn mù quán fēi

nothing remains the same (idiom); change beyond recognition

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Characters in this entry

面: miàn · face; surface; plane; side, dimension; Kangxi radical 176
目: mù · eye; look, see; division, topic; Kangxi radical 109
全: quán · maintain, keep whole or intact
非: fēi · not, negative, non-; oppose; Kangxi radical 175

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–2–1 · mian4 mu4 quan2 fei1

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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.

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

min6 muk6 cyun4 fei1

Cantonese word readings for 面目全非. 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

(usually derogatory) to have a radically different appearance (due to changes); to change beyond recognition

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

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