DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

寒蟬

简寒蝉 · 繁寒蟬

Mandarin · pinyin hán chán

a cicada in cold weather (used as a metaphor for sb who keeps their thoughts to themself)
Meimuna opalifera, a kind of cicada found in East Asia

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Characters in this entry

寒: hán · cold, wintry, chilly
蟬: Look up this written character
蝉: chán · cicada; continuous

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2 · han2 chan2

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun

(literally) cicada in winter
(literary) a kind of cicada that is small in size and bluegreen-red in colour
(literary, figurative) one who stays silent

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

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