负面

• Pinyin: fù miàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 负 = 刀 + 贝 (bear a burden, negative); 面 = 囗 + 目 (face, side, aspect)

Meaning

Negative; adverse. Describes something that has an unfavourable, harmful, or detrimental quality or effect.

Widely used in media, psychology, and social commentary. 负面影响 (negative impact), 负面情绪 (negative emotions), and 负面报道 (negative press coverage) are fixed collocations. In communications, 负面舆论 refers to public backlash. Contrasts with 正面 (positive).

Examples

1. 长期接触负面新闻容易使人产生焦虑和悲观的情绪。 Long-term exposure to negative news can easily make people feel anxious and pessimistic.
2. 这则广告因传递了负面的社会价值观而遭到消费者投诉。 Consumers filed complaints about this ad because it promotes negative social values.
3. 管理层担心此次裁员事件会对公司形象造成持续的负面影响。 Management is worried that the layoffs will have a lasting negative impact on the company’s image.

Usage Guide

Context: media, psychology, business, social

Tone: critical

Do Say

• 我们需要正视这项政策潜在的负面后果，不能只看好的一面。(We need to face the potential negative consequences of this policy squarely rather than only seeing the positive side.)
• 学校辅导员帮助学生识别并疏导各种负面情绪。(School counsellors help students identify and channel various negative emotions.)

Don't Say

• 负面的数字 — for negative numbers in mathematics, use 负数; 负面 applies to abstract qualities and effects only

Origin & History

负 (negative/bear) + 面 (side/aspect/face)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal