表面上 (biǎo miàn shang) means “outwardly; superficially; on the face of it”. It is an HSK 6 Chinese word in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.
Practice each character:
他表面上很平静。
Tā biǎo miàn shang hěn píngjìng.
He appears calm on the surface.
Updated: 2026-07-18