save face

English

Etymology

See lose face.

Verb

save face (third-person singular simple present saves face, present participle saving face, simple past and past participle saved face)

1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To take an action or make a gesture intended to preserve one's reputation or honour.

   He tried to make reparations to those he had injured, partly to save face.

Translations

preserve reputation

Arabic: حَفِظَ مَاءَ الوَجْهِ (ḥafiẓa māʔa l-wajhi) Chinese: Mandarin: 挽回面子 (wǎnhuí miànzi) Czech: zachránit tvář Esperanto: savi la vizaĝon Estonian: au päästma Finnish: pelastaa kasvonsa French: sauver la face (fr) German: das Gesicht wahren Japanese: 顔を立てる (かおをたてる, kao o tateru), 面目を保つ (めんぼくをたもつ, menboku o tamotsu) Khmer: ទុកមុខអោយ (tukmukʼaoy) Korean: please add this translation if you can Malay: jaga air muka Mongolian: please add this translation if you can Persian: آبروداری کردن (âb(e)ru-dâri kardan) Polish: zachowywać twarz impf, zachować twarz pf Portuguese: livrar a cara Russian: сохрани́ть лицо́ pf (soxranítʹ licó) Spanish: guardar apariencias, salvar apariencias, aparentar (es), serenarse (es) Swedish: rädda ansiktet Thai: ไว้หน้า (th) (wái-nâa), รักษาหน้า (th) (rák-sǎa-nâa) Tibetan: please add this translation if you can Vietnamese: giữ thể diện Welsh: safio'r wyneb

See also

• give face
• lose face
• cut off one's nose to spite one's face