Lose my face in english

Question

how to say 'lose my face' in english? For example, when people point out your mistakes in front of people, and make you ashamed. You will 'lose your face', or self-esteem. I want to know the term to describe that situation.
Please advice. thanks...

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]how to say 'lose my face' in english? For example, when people point out your mistakes in front of people, and make you ashamed. You will 'lose your face', or self-esteem. I want to know the term to describe that situation. Please advice. thanks...[/nq]
"To lose face". No possessive is used.

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Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]how to say 'lose my face' in english? For example, ... know the term to describe that situation. Please advice. thanks...[/nq]
[nq:1]"To lose face". No possessive is used.[/nq]
Yes, but the poster should understand that the phrase is very marked in English as a Chinese or Japanese term. A non-Chinese or non-Japanese American would not use the term unless parodying Chinese or Japanese phrasing. An American would say that he was embarrassed or humiliated or, even, made fun of, in this situation. I think "ashamed" is too strong a word in this situation for an American.

Americans *do* become embarrassed by having their mistakes pointed out in public, but we don't have that sense of "losing face". An American is likely to lose his temper at being embarrassed, but his self-esteem isn't likely to bruised.
I suspect the Brits are the same.

Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL

Usenet · Answer

#
[nq:1]...we don't have that sense of "losing face". An American is likely to lose his temper at being embarrassed, but his self-esteem isn't likely to bruised. I suspect the Brits are the same.[/nq]
You suspect wrong. It is perfectly good everyday idiomatic English here to say that someone "loses face" if they are somehow publicly humiliated or embarrassed. A senior manager might say "I didn't contradict Jim at the meeting because I didn't want to annoy him by making him lose face". A teenage hoodlum might pick a fight with somebody who was rude to him to avoid losing face in front of his friends.
Italians talk about "una brutta figura"...

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]"To lose face". No possessive is used.[/nq]
[nq:1]Yes, but the poster should understand that the phrase is very marked in English as a Chinese or Japanese term. ... lose his temper at being embarrassed, but his self-esteem isn't likely to bruised. I suspect the Brits are the same.[/nq]
I think that your brush is a bit broad there.
I've heard "to lose face" used all my life with no parody of Japanese or Chinese phrasing intended. It is different from simple embarassment; longer term and more severe. It carries the implication of lasting damage to reputation or status. "Embarassed" is less severe, and can be quite mild; "humiliated" is severe, but doesn't have the same sense of lasting damage.

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[nq:2]Yes, but the poster should understand that the phrase is ... likely to bruised. I suspect the Brits are the same.[/nq]
[nq:1]I think that your brush is a bit broad there. I've heard "to lose face" used all my life with ... is less severe, and can be quite mild; "humiliated" is severe, but doesn't have the same sense of lasting damage.[/nq]
I'm with you, no Asian parody, even though the phrase may have its origions with them.
What I do find is that "save face" is the more common ideom, 904K hits on 'the google' vs 279K for 'lose face'.
JOE

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I think that your brush is a bit broad there. ... severe, but doesn't have the same sense of lasting damage.[/nq]
[nq:1]I'm with you, no Asian parody, even though the phrase may have its origions with them. What I do find is that "save face" is the more common ideom, 904K hits on 'the google' vs 279K for 'lose face'. JOE[/nq]
idiom - damned spell checker!

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Yes, but the poster should understand that the phrase is ... likely to bruised. I suspect the Brits are the same.[/nq]
[nq:1]I think that your brush is a bit broad there. I've heard "to lose face" used all my life with ... is less severe, and can be quite mild; "humiliated" is severe, but doesn't have the same sense of lasting damage.[/nq]
The difference is that this is a Chinese or Japanese person not living in the US asking how to use the term "losing face" in English. If you or I would use the term, it would be understood by other Americans to mean embarrassment or even humiliation. But temporary in nature and - to us - relatively trivial.
"Losing face", in that person's culture, is much more serious. When that person uses the term in our culture, his meaning is not properly conveyed. The danger lies in providing him with a form of usage that might not adequately express what he means.
I think we should tell him how to write or say the phrase in idiomatic English, but also warn him that the term may not come across with the same meaning he associates with it when used in our culture.

You've acknowledged the difference above, but not that the term may not cross the cultural divide properly.

Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I think that your brush is a bit broad there. ... severe, but doesn't have the same sense of lasting damage.[/nq]
[nq:1]I'm with you, no Asian parody, even though the phrase may have its origions with them. What I do find is that "save face" is the more common ideom, 904K hits on 'the google' vs 279K for 'lose face'.[/nq]
You are Googling an English version used by native English speakers in the way native English speakers use it. What you can't Google is the cultural difference in usage. That's my point.

Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I think that your brush is a bit broad there. ... severe, but doesn't have the same sense of lasting damage.[/nq]
[nq:1]The difference is that this is a Chinese or Japanese person not living in the US asking how to use the term "losing face" in English.[/nq]
How do you know this? He posted as "Steve" and he's posting from a gmail account.
[nq:1]If you or I would use the term, it would be understood by other Americans to mean embarrassment or even humiliation. But temporary in nature and - to us - relatively trivial.[/nq]
Again, I would point out that this may be your experience, but that America is a very big place, and American English is far from homogenous in how phrases are used, particularly when connotation comes into play. To me, "Losing face" is, as I said before, neither temporary nor trivial.
[nq:1]"Losing face", in that person's culture, is much more serious. When that person uses the term in our culture, his meaning is not properly conveyed. The danger lies in providing him with a form of usage that might not adequately express what he means.[/nq]
But he asked what the phrase is in English. I assume that he wanted to know what the phrase is in English. Since I know nothing about him except what he has said, it would be highly presumputuous of me to asume that I know what he wants better than he does.
[nq:1]I think we should tell him how to write or say the phrase in idiomatic English, but also warn him ... in our culture. You've acknowledged the difference above, but not that the term may not cross the cultural divide properly.[/nq]
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Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]"To lose face". No possessive is used.[/nq]
[nq:1]Yes, but the poster should understand that the phrase is very marked in English as a Chinese or Japanese term. ... lose his temper at being embarrassed, but his self-esteem isn't likely to bruised. I suspect the Brits are the same.[/nq]
While the idea of "losing face" comes from Asia it is a concept that resonated with the west.

Lose my face in english

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