DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

默不作聲

简默不作声 · 繁默不作聲

Mandarin · pinyin mò bù zuò shēng

to keep silent

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Characters in this entry

默: mò · silent; quiet, still; dark
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
作: zuò · make; work; compose, write; act, perform
聲: shēng · sound, voice, noise; tone; music
声: shēng · sound, voice, noise; tone; music

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–4–1 · mo4 bu4 zuo4 sheng1

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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.

默不作聲 · find source passages ↗ · 默不作声 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

mak6 bat1 zok3 seng1

Cantonese word readings for 默不作聲. 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.

phrase

(idiomatic) to remain silent

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

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