DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

交淺言深

简交浅言深 · 繁交淺言深

Mandarin · pinyin jiāo qiǎn yán shēn

(idiom) to talk intimately while being comparative strangers

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

交: jiāo · mix; intersect; exchange, communicate; deliver
淺: Look up this written character
言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
深: shēn · deep; depth; far; very, extreme
浅: qiǎn · shallow, not deep; superficial

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–3–2–1 · jiao1 qian3 yan2 shen1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

交淺言深 · find source passages ↗ · 交浅言深 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gaau1 cin2 jin4 sam1

Cantonese word readings for 交淺言深. 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

(idiomatic) to have deep conversations with an acquaintance

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

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