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颦 is a phono-semantic compound whose traditional form, 顰, consists of the semantic component 卑 (bēi, "low, base") below and the phonetic component 頻 (pín, "frequent") above. The simplified character 颦 replaces the top with 频. It means to frown or knit one's brows, conveying worry, pain, or displeasure, and is famously used in the idiom 东施效颦 (Dōngshī-xiàopín), which describes an unattractive woman imitating the beautiful frown of Xi Shi, mocking blind imitation without regard for one's own qualities.
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