面子是人际关系中的一种现象，在东方等级观念较强的社会（如中国等）特别受到重视。具体定义不明，基本上意味给社会中每个人的尊重。如果不给人面子，即是不尊重别人，可能会引起报复。如果有面子，一般会被认为是社会地位较高，更受人尊敬，而不过面子不够大，可能是因为在社会、经济等方面地位低下。“面子”是“社会脸面”，代表着个人在人生历程中由成就和夸耀所获得的名声以及被社会重视的声誉。「厚颜」俗称「不要脸」。

The term face idiomatically refers to one's own sense of dignity or prestige in social contexts. In the English-speaking world, the expression "To save face" describes the lengths that an individual may go to in order to preserve their established position in society, taking action to ensure that one is not thought badly of by their peers. It is a fundamental concept in the fields of sociology, sociolinguistics, semantics, politeness theory, psychology, political science, communication, and face negotiation theory, and translates at least somewhat equivalently into many world languages, both Germanic and otherwise.