chén mò
réticent; taciturne; peu communicatif
Practice writing with stroke order guidance, audio pronunciation, and interactive exercises in our mobile app.
Step-by-step stroke order animations
Native speaker audio pronunciation
Interactive writing recognition
他沉默了一会儿，然后才说话。
tā chénmòle yīhuìr, ránhòu cái shuōhuà.
He was silent for a moment before he spoke.
面对老师的批评，他一言不发，保持沉默。
miàn duì lǎoshī de pīpíng, tā yīyán bù fā, bǎochí chénmò.
Faced with the teacher's criticism, he remained silent, not saying a word.
在法庭上，被告保持沉默，拒绝回答任何问题。
zài fǎtíng shàng, bèigào bǎochí chénmò, jùjué huídá rènhé wèntí.
In court, the defendant remained silent, refusing to answer any questions.
缄默 (jiān mò)
keep silent
无言 (wú yán)
speechless
喧闹 (xuān nào)
noisy
活跃 (huó yuè)
active
The Chinese word 沉默 (chénmò) is composed of two characters: 沉 (chén) and 默 (mò). The character 沉 originally meant "to sink" or "to immerse", and later extended to mean "to be deep" or "to be profound". The character 默 originally meant "to be silent" or "to be quiet", and later extended to mean "to think deeply" or "to meditate". When combined, the two characters 沉 and 默 form the word 沉默, which means "to be silent" or "to be quiet". The word 沉默 can also be used to describe a person who is introverted or who does not talk much.
