外面|がいめんgaimen[0]heiban (flat)

1. nounouter surface; outside; exterior
2. nounoutward appearance
   内面ないめんの欠点けってんはきっと外面そとづらに現あらわれるものだ。↗

   The inside defects never fail to express themselves outwardly.
3. nounmanner (with others); demeanour; (outward) bearing

• Synonym外側そとがわNeutralThe everyday word for the outer side of an object; unlike 「外面」 it never refers to one's manner toward others.
• Synonym外観がいかんWrittenA written/formal word for the outward look of buildings or products; it does not describe a person's manner.
• Synonym外見がいけんNeutralA person's looks — face and dress; can also apply to things. Common in daily use and plainer than 「外面」.
• Synonym外形がいけいWrittenA written word stressing outward shape or contour; unlike 「外面」 it says nothing about one's manner.
• SynonymうわべNeutralSurface show rather than substance, with a negative tinge, as in 「上辺だけの親切」.
• Synonym外装がいそうNeutralExterior fittings or packaging of buildings, cars and products — the physical structure, not the look.
• RelatedうわべNeutralSurface show rather than substance, with a negative tinge, as in 「上辺だけの親切」.
• Related見かけみかけCasualColloquial word for how something or someone looks; very common in 「見かけによらず」.
• RelatedつらCasualCoarse, discourteous word for a person's face; can also mean a surface. 「外面」, for looks or outward manner, carries no such coarseness.
• Related表層ひょうそうWrittenWritten word for a surface layer, used of strata, the ocean, or metaphorically shallow awareness; 「外面」 does not imply layering.
• Related見せ掛けみせかけCasualColloquial word for a deliberately faked show, as in 「見せ掛けの優しさ」.
• Related上っ面うわっつらCasualColloquial and more contemptuous than 「上辺」, stressing shallowness, as in 「上っ面だけの理解」.
• Related上面うわつらWrittenA rare written synonym of 「上辺」; in everyday speech just use 「上辺」 or 「表面」.
• Related上側うわかわNeutralThe upper side of an object; it never refers to a person's outward manner.
• Related上っ側うわっかわCasualA rare colloquial synonym of 「上側」; it does not describe a person's outward manner.
• Antonym内面ないめんWrittenAntonym: the inside of something or the inner self, as in 「内面の美しさ」 — the opposite of outward surface and manner.
• AntonymうちNeutralAntonym: inside or within; it can also mark a period of time. In the spatial sense it is the opposite of the outer side 「外面」 refers to.

Read 「そとづら」, 「外面」 means one's manner toward others, as in 「外面がいい」; read 「がいめん」, it is the outer surface of a thing. For a person's looks use 「外見」; for the outer side of an object use 「外側」. For mere surface without substance pick 「上辺」 or the more contemptuous 「上っ面」; 「見かけ」 is the colloquial everyday word, 「外観」 the formal term for a building's or product's look.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. （がいめん、げめん）物ものの外側そとがわの表面ひょうめん。
2. （げめん）外そとに現あらわれた顔かおつき。
3. （がいめん）外そとに現あらわれた様子ようす。外見がいけん。