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不露聲色

简不露声色 · 繁不露聲色

Mandarin · pinyin bù lù shēng sè

not show one's feeling or intentions

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
露: lù · dew; bare, open, exposed
聲: shēng · sound, voice, noise; tone; music
色: sè · color, tint, hue, shade; form, body; beauty, desire for beauty; Kangxi radical 139
声: shēng · sound, voice, noise; tone; music

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–1–4 · bu4 lu4 sheng1 se4

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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.

不露聲色 · find source passages ↗ · 不露声色 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 lou6 sing1 sik1

Cantonese word readings for 不露聲色. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to maintain one's composure; to stay calm and collected; to not turn a hair; to not bat an eyelid; to not show or betray one's feelings or intentions

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

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