DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

三緘其口

简三缄其口 · 繁三緘其口

Mandarin · pinyin sān jiān qí kǒu

(idiom) reluctant to speak about it
tight-lipped

Full entryShow on map

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.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–1–2–3 · san1 jian1 qi2 kou3

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.

三緘其口 · find source passages ↗ · 三缄其口 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

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

(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