"to say something to somebody's face" / "to tell somebody something to their face"

Meaning: to say something about a person or tell a person something directly to that person

Similar Expressions

• I told her to her face.
• I told her directly.
• I said it to her directly.
• I said it right to her.

When do we use it?

This expression is the opposite of "say/tell something behind someone's back". We only use this expression with negative situations like when we are confronting somebody that we have a problem or issue with.

• I told him that his project was terrible to his face.
• I told him that he is nice to his face.

We usually only use this expression with the verbs "say" and "tell".

How do we use it?

We can use these sentence patterns. We can use a single word or we can use a whole clause to show what the person said.

Subject + said + something + to a person's face

• I said it to her face.
• She said that the pizza was terrible to the owner's face.

Subject + told + person/pronoun + something + to a person's face

• She told me that she didn't love me to my face.
• She told him the truth to his face.

Example English Conversation

A) If you are so angry, why don't you tell him to his face how you feel?
B) I think you are right. It is best if I tell him everything to his face.

The more English idioms and expressions that you know, the easier it will be for you to have conversation in English. If you study these free English lessons about commonly used English expressions and idioms consistently, then over time, you will build a solid English vocabulary that will help you speak English fluently.