Faces and surfaces with 面
面 has three basic meanings: face, surface, and direction.
Etymology
面 is a pictogram of a face seen from the front.
Faces and Fronts
真面目 (Serious)
真面目 means serious, earnest, or diligent rather than joking or insincere.
It combines 真 (true) with 面目 (face) to show a genuine outward character.
Urushi asks Rin about what Ayumu was like in middle school.
- うるし:
- 「真面目だけど少し抜けてていつも真剣で勉強苦手でスポーツ万能か」
- “Serious but a bit absent-minded, always earnest, struggles with academics, but excels at sports, huh?”
Scenes and Aspects
面倒 (Trouble)
面倒 means trouble, bother, or something difficult to deal with. It can also mean caring for someone or something.
This word is an ateji, so the meaning of the kanji do not apply.
Conan and Ran end up with Kogoro investigating a kidnapping case. As Kogoro questions the butler, Conan steps in with his own questions. The butler asks who the child is.
- 小五郎:
- 「いやー、わたしの知り合いの子でして…」
- “Well, it's the child of an acquaintance, and...”
- 「蘭！！ ちゃんと面倒見てろ！！」
- “Ran! Properly look after him!”
- “Well, it's the child of an acquaintance, and...”
Surfaces and Planes
地面 (Ground)
地面 means the ground, whether soil or a paved surface.
It combines 地 (ground) with 面 (surface) to show the surface of the ground.
Sazanka is worried that Tsubaki’s abilities go awry when she hears the word “man”. To test this, Sazanka leads Tsubaki to a puddle of water and challenges her to evaporate it with a fire technique, during which Sazanka will whisper “man” into Tsubaki’s ear. The result is Tsubaki’s ability intensifying in power.
- サザンカ:
- 「蒸発どころか…地面抉れてる…」
- “Not just evaporation, even the ground is gouged.”
譜面 (Score)
譜面 means sheet music or a score written in musical notation.
It combines 譜 (notation) with 面 (surface) to show the page (surface) bearing written notation.
Following a series of murders, Conan discovers a message hidden in sheet music. He explains it to Ran.
- コナン:
- 「ピアノの鍵盤の左端から順に、アルファベットをあてはめて…」
- “Starting from the leftmost key on the piano keyboard, I assigned each key a letter...”
- 「メッセージの文字に相当する音を、譜面に書きしるしただけだよ…」
- “I simply wrote down the notes corresponding to the letters of the message on the sheet music...”
- “Starting from the leftmost key on the piano keyboard, I assigned each key a letter...”