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三緘其口

简 三缄其口 · 繁 三緘其口
Mandarin · pinyin sān jiān qí kǒu

Meanings

  1. (idiom) reluctant to speak about it
  2. tight-lipped
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Characters in this entry

三
sān · three
緘
Look up this written character
其
qí · his, her, its, their; that
口
kǒu · mouth; open end; entrance, gate
缄
jiān · seal, close; bind; letter
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Entries containing 三緘其口 ↗Words written with 三 ↗Words written with 緘 ↗Words written with 其 ↗Words written with 口 ↗Words written with 缄 ↗

Mandarin tones

1–1–2–3 · san1 jian1 qi2 kou3

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

saam1 gaam1 kei4 hau2

Cantonese word readings for 三緘其口. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

  1. (idiomatic) keeping one's mouth shut more than once; be extremely selective in one's words

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack