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守口如瓶 (shǒu kǒu rú píng) — to keep one's mouth shut; tight-lipped; to guard a secret carefully

Definition

A vivid chengyu meaning 'guard one's mouth like sealing a bottle' — used to describe someone who keeps a secret absolutely and refuses to say a word. Stronger than 保密 (keep confidential); implies total silence, not just discretion.

idiom
to keep one's mouth shuttight-lippedto guard a secret carefully

Examples

  • ，守口如瓶，。
    Guān yú zhè jiàn shì, tā zǒng shì shǒu kǒu rú píng, yí gè zì yě bù shuō.
    He is always tight-lipped about this matter and doesn't say a single word.
  • ，守口如瓶。
    Zuò wéi gōng sī hé xīn chéng yuán, nǐ bì xū shǒu kǒu rú píng.
    As a core member of the company, you must keep your mouth shut.
  • 守口如瓶，。
    Tā dā ying shǒu kǒu rú píng, jué bú huì xiè lòu zhè ge mì mì.
    She promised to be tight-lipped and would never leak this secret.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 宀宀miánroof; building
  • 寸寸cùnhand

守 pairs 宀, a roof or building, with 寸, a hand, to show a hand guarding a place.

Open 守 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Open 口 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ如rú
Same sound today

如 is built from 口 (mouth) for its meaning and 女 (woman) for its sound.

Open 如 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
瓦瓦wǎearthenware
Sound part声符shēngfú
并
并bìng瓶píng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

瓶 uses 瓦 to show an earthenware vessel and 并 for the sound. The original vessel had a long slender neck and narrow mouth.

Open 瓶 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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