Chinese character 觍

It can mean shamefacedness or brazenness, depending on the phrase.

Shuowen Jiezi, an early Chinese character dictionary, preserves a passage from the Book of Songs with the older form 靦 for a face associated with shame. This describes a written form, not a drawing of a face.

觍 is the simplified form of traditional 覥. In 觍着脸, 着 forms a colloquial action phrase; 觍颜 and 觍然 are more literary, and context can make them mean shamefaced or brazen.

Why does 觍着脸 sound insulting?

It calls someone shamelessly persistent.

By 2017, 觍着脸 was a colloquial rebuke for pressing on, asking again, or showing up without embarrassment. If it is aimed at you, read it as criticism unless the message clearly makes the speaker the joke.

觍 or 腆: which one is right?

The right spelling depends on the phrase and writing convention.

These characters share the Mandarin pronunciation tiǎn, but their uses differ. In simplified Chinese, 觍着脸 is the recommended spelling for shameless persistence. Traditional Chinese also has 腆著臉 for this idiom.

腆 can mean full or protruding on its own, as in 腆着肚子 (“with the belly pushed out”). So 觍 and 腆 are not interchangeable in all contexts.