📖 Meaning
Describes someone putting on a stern, severe expression, typically when delivering a serious reprimand or showing displeasure. It conveys that the person has deliberately composed their face into a grave, uncompromising look to signal the gravity of the matter at hand.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom draws on language found in the Book of Han (汉书), which describes figures who 'glared with a stern expression to rouse martial fury,' and the Book of the Later Han (后汉书), which speaks of 'seeing a proper countenance and hearing proper words.' Over time these notions merged into the four-character phrase, pairing an upright, composed face (正颜) with a severe expression (厉色) to depict someone adopting a grave bearing. It appears notably in Cao Xueqin's Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦), where such a look signals that a character is speaking in earnest. In classical usage, this kind of facial composure was associated with moral authority and the weight of a serious admonition.
💡 Example Usage
老师正颜厉色地批评了几个上课捣乱的学生。
The teacher sternly criticized the students who had been causing trouble in class.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 正颜厉色
- Pinyin: zhèng yán lì sè
- Literal Translation: upright, face, stern, expression
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4