DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

閉口不談

简闭口不谈 · 繁閉口不談

Mandarin · pinyin bì kǒu bù tán

to refuse to say anything about (idiom)
to remain tight-lipped
to avoid mentioning

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

閉: Look up this written character
口: kǒu · mouth; open end; entrance, gate
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
談: tán · talk; conversation; surname
闭: bì · shut, close; obstruct, block up
谈: tán · talk; conversation; surname

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–3–4–2 · bi4 kou3 bu4 tan2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

閉口不談 · find source passages ↗ · 闭口不谈 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bai3 hau2 bat1 taam4

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

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack