📖 Meaning
To change one's facial expression and complexion due to inner emotions such as fear, anxiety, anger, or shock. It vividly describes someone whose face visibly alters when experiencing strong negative feelings. The idiom emphasizes the involuntary and noticeable nature of the emotional reaction.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom appears in the modern Chinese writer Guan Hua's (管桦) short story 'The Unreasonable Man' (《不讲理的人》). In the story, the wealthy Master Kuo notices two old men looking troubled and changing their expressions, so he raises his eyebrows in surprise, stares at them, and asks what is going on. The phrase captures the involuntary shift in someone's countenance when caught in a difficult or alarming situation. It has since become a common expression in modern Chinese literature and everyday speech.
💡 Example Usage
他一听这话就变颜变色，显然被戳到了痛处。
Upon hearing these words, he changed his expression and color, clearly having been struck where it hurt.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 变颜变色
- Pinyin: biàn yán biàn sè
- Literal Translation: change, face, change, color
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4