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mất mặt

Level ≈B2 (approx.) verb Top 5,000 most common
Hanoi [mət̚˧˦ mat̚˧˨ʔ]Huế [mək̚˦˧˥ mak̚˨˩ʔ]Saigon [mək̚˦˥ mak̚˨˩˨] browser voice
Syllables · tones
mấtrisingsắcmặtheavynặng

Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →

mất mặt means to lose face; to disappear.

Meanings of mất mặt in English

Verb

  1. to lose face
    • làm mất mặtto lose face, to be disgraced, to make a fool of oneself
    • đừng làm chuyện mất mặtdon't do shady things
    • Vốn muốn nói với anh ấy vài câu, nhưng lại sợ anh ấy mất mặt.I hesitated to criticize him for fear of making him uncomfortable.
  2. to disappear
    • đi mất mặtto disappear without a trace

Example sentences with mất mặt

  • Anh ấy mất mặt. He lost face.

Bilingual example sentences from Tatoeba (tatoeba.org, CC BY 2.0 FR).

Etymology

mất (“to lose”) + mặt (“face”). Sense 1 is likely a calque of Chinese 丟臉／丢脸 (diūliǎn, “to lose face; disgraceful”).

Frequently asked questions

What does mất mặt mean in English?

mất mặt (verb) means "to lose face; to disappear".

How do you pronounce mất mặt?

IPA: Hanoi [mət̚˧˦ mat̚˧˨ʔ]; Saigon [mək̚˦˥ mak̚˨˩˨]. Tones: mất — rising tone (sắc), mặt — heavy tone (nặng).

Meanings, pronunciation and etymology from English Wiktionary (wiktionary.org, via kaikki.org; CC BY-SA 4.0), reviewed and edited; example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). IPA shown for three accents: Hanoi (Northern), Huế (Central) and Saigon (Southern). The Listen button uses your browser's Vietnamese voice, for reference only. Levels are approximate, estimated from word frequency. Spotted a mistake? Let NgonNgu know.