DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

祕而不宣

简秘而不宣 · 繁祕而不宣

Mandarin · pinyin mì ér bù xuān

to withhold information
to keep sth secret

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Characters in this entry

祕: mì · mysterious, secret, abstruse
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
宣: xuān · declare, announce, proclaim
秘: mì · secret, mysterious, abstruse

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–1 · mi4 er2 bu4 xuan1

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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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