密谈 (mì tán) — to have a private conversation; to talk behind closed doors

Definition

密谈 (mì tán) is a formal verb for a private, confidential discussion — usually between officials, leaders, or parties — that is meant to stay secret from outsiders.

verb
to have a private conversationto talk behind closed doors

Examples

  • 密谈。
    Liǎng wèi lǐng dǎo zài huì yì shì mì tán le zhěng zhěng yí gè xià wǔ.
    The two leaders had a private conversation in the conference room all afternoon.
  • 密谈。
    Tā men mì tán de nèi róng bù néng ràng wài rén zhī dào.
    The content of their private talk must not be known to outsiders.
  • 密谈。
    Zhè jiàn shì xū yào zài méi yǒu páng rén de dì fāng mì tán.
    We need to talk about this privately away from others.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

密mìprivate
谈tántalk

密 gives the private sense, and 谈 gives the act of talking.

Characters in this word

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
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
宓
宓mì密mì
Same sound today

密 pairs 山 (mountain) with 宓 (mì), which gives the pronunciation, to picture something hidden in the mountains, hence secret.

Open 密 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 談; 谈 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
炎
炎yán談tán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 谈, the traditional form 談 pairs 言 (speech) with 炎 (yán) as the sound part.

Open 谈 →

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