Definitions

tiǎn shameful; shameless

Etymology

About

A phono-semantic compound, combines the semantic radical ('horn') on the left with the phonetic component (pronounced tiǎn) on the right. The horn element originally conveyed the idea of something protruding, jutting out, or leaning forward. Over subsequent linguistic periods, this physical notion shifted toward a psychological description, and the character now describes a brazen, unashamed, or thick-skinned person. It frequently appears in the phrase '觍着脸', which translates to having the audacity to demand something, reflecting the clear semantic shift from a physical descriptor to an abstract behavioral modifier.