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沉默是金

Mandarin · pinyin chén mò shì jīn

silence is golden (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

沉: chén · sink, submerge; addicted to
默: mò · silent; quiet, still; dark
是: shì · indeed, yes, right; to be; demonstrative pronoun, this, that
金: jīn · gold; metals in general; money; Kangxi radical 167

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Mandarin tones

2–4–4–1 · chen2 mo4 shi4 jin1

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cam4 mak6 si6 gam1

Cantonese word readings for 沉默是金. 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.

proverb

silence is golden

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

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