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噤若寒蟬

简噤若寒蝉 · 繁噤若寒蟬

Mandarin · pinyin jìn ruò hán chán

to keep quiet out of fear (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

噤: jìn · close; be silent, be unable speak
若: ruò · if, supposing, assuming; similar
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

4–4–2–2 · jin4 ruo4 han2 chan2

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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.

噤若寒蟬 · find source passages ↗ · 噤若寒蝉 · find source passages ↗

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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

(simile) to remain silent out of fear; to refrain unwillingly from speaking out

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

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