噤若寒蟬

Chinese

		unable to speak; silent	to seem; like; as to seem; like; as; if	cicada in winter; a kind of cicada that is small in size and bluegreen-red in colour
trad. (噤若寒蟬)		噤	若	寒蟬
simp. (噤若寒蝉)		噤	若	寒蝉

Etymology

Cicadas sing in summer and autumn than die soon. The ancients did not realize this and thought cicadas could not make a sound when it was cold, so they use it to describe not dare to speak out. From the Book of the Later Han:

劉勝位為大夫，見禮上賓，而知善不薦，聞惡無言，隱情惜己，自同寒蟬，此罪人也。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]

---

刘胜位为大夫，见礼上宾，而知善不荐，闻恶无言，隐情惜己，自同寒蝉，此罪人也。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

From: The Book of the Later Han, circa 5^th century CE

Liú Shèng wèi wèi dàfū, jiàn lǐ shàngbīn, ér zhī shàn bù jiàn, wén è wúyán, yǐnqíng xī jǐ, zì tóng hánchán, cǐ zuìrén yě. [Pinyin]

As a scholar-official, Liu Sheng was treated like a distinguished guest, but he couldn't recommend virtuous person, refused to refute evil words, pretended to be deaf and mute, cherished his reputation, and kept silent, he's a sinner.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jìnruòhánchán

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄖㄨㄛˋ ㄏㄢˊ ㄔㄢˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gam³ joek⁶ hon⁴ sim⁴

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jìnruòhánchán
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄖㄨㄛˋ ㄏㄢˊ ㄔㄢˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jìnruòhánchán
    • Wade–Giles: chin⁴-jo⁴-han²-chʻan²
    • Yale: jìn-rwò-hán-chán
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jinnruohharncharn
    • Palladius: цзиньжоханьчань (czinʹžoxanʹčanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕin⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʐu̯ɔ⁵¹ xän³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰän³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gam³ joek⁶ hon⁴ sim⁴
    • Yale: gam yeuhk hòhn sìhm
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gam³ joek⁹ hon⁴ sim⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: gem³ yêg⁶ hon⁴ xim⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɐm³³ jœːk̚² hɔːn²¹ siːm²¹/

Idiom

噤若寒蟬

1. to remain silent out of fear; to refrain unwillingly from speaking out

   自從被上司數落之後，他便噤若寒蟬，再也不敢發表意見了。 [MSC, trad.]
   自从被上司数落之后，他便噤若寒蝉，再也不敢发表意见了。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zìcóng bèi shàngsī shǔluò zhī hòu, tā biàn jìnruòhánchán, zài yě bùgǎn fābiǎo yìjiàn le. [Pinyin]

   Ever since he was scolded by his boss, he had become silent and never dared to express his opinions again.

Antonyms

• 侃侃而談／侃侃而谈 (kǎnkǎn'értán)
• 滔滔不絕／滔滔不绝 (tāotāobùjué)
• 直言不諱／直言不讳 (zhíyánbùhuì)

 

References

• “Entry #94943”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.