死要面子活受罪

to go through hell for the sake of keeping up appearances (idiom)

to die / impassable / uncrossable / inflexible / rigid / extremely / damned

to demand / to request / to coerce

important / vital / to want / to ask for / will / going to (as future auxiliary) / may / must / (used in a comparison) must be / probably / if

(bound form) to demand; to coerce

to want; to need; to ask for / will; shall; about to / need to; should / if (same as 要是[yao4 shi5]) / (bound form) important

face / side / surface / aspect / top / classifier for objects with flat surfaces such as drums, mirrors, flags etc

variant of 麵|面[mian4]

flour / noodles / (of food) soft (not crunchy) / (slang) (of a person) ineffectual / spineless

to regard face as all-important / to consider loss of face unthinkable

see 愛面子|爱面子[ai4 mian4 zi5]

outer surface / outside / honor / reputation / face (as in "losing face") / self-respect / feelings / (medicinal) powder

outer surface; the outside of sth / social prestige; face

(medicinal) powder

son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.-1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the Rat / Viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 wei4] / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary / subordinate / sub-

(noun suffix)

to live / alive / living / work / workmanship

to receive / to accept / to suffer / subjected to / to bear / to stand / pleasant / (passive marker)

(coll.) to go through sheer hell

to endure / to suffer / hardships / torments / a hard time / a nuisance

guilt / crime / fault / blame / sin

variant of 罪[zui4], crime