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沉默寡言

Mandarin · pinyin chén mò guǎ yán

Meanings

  1. habitually silent (idiom)
  2. reticent
  3. uncommunicative
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Characters in this entry

沉
chén · sink, submerge; addicted to
默
mò · silent; quiet, still; dark
寡
guǎ · widowed; alone, friendless
言
yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Entries containing 沉默寡言 ↗Words written with 沉 ↗Words written with 默 ↗Words written with 寡 ↗Words written with 言 ↗

Mandarin tones

2–4–3–2 · chen2 mo4 gua3 yan2

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

  1. (idiomatic) taciturn; reticent; to be of few words

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

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