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閉口不言

简闭口不言 · 繁閉口不言

Mandarin · pinyin bì kǒu bù yán

to keep silent (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

閉: Look up this written character
口: kǒu · mouth; open end; entrance, gate
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
闭: bì · shut, close; obstruct, block up

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–4–2 · bi4 kou3 bu4 yan2

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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.

閉口不言 · find source passages ↗ · 闭口不言 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bai3 hau2 bat1 jin4

Cantonese word readings for 閉口不言. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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