TongTong
Sign in

悄无声息 (qiǎo wú shēng xī) — quietly, noiselessly, stealthily

Definition

An adverbial idiom meaning 'without a sound, in complete silence' — emphasizes the total absence of noise. Distinct from the verb 安静 (be quiet) by describing how an action unfolds, not a state.

verb
quietlynoiselesslystealthily

Examples

  • 悄无声息。
    Tā qiǎo wú shēng xī dì zǒu jìn le fáng jiān.
    He walked into the room quietly.
  • 悄无声息，。
    Zhěng gè yè wǎn qiǎo wú shēng xī, lián chóng míng dōu tīng bú jiàn.
    The entire night was silent, not even the chirping of insects could be heard.
  • 悄无声息，。
    Shí jiān qiǎo wú shēng xī dì liú shì, zhuǎn yǎn yì nián guò qù le.
    Time passed by silently, and in the blink of an eye, a year had gone by.

Origin

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
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
肖
肖xiào悄qiǎo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

悄 is made from 忄, a form of 心 meaning heart, and 肖, which provides the sound.

Open 悄 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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 聲; 声 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
殸
殸qìng聲shēng
Same sound today

The traditional form 聲 pairs 耳 (ear) with 殸 as a sound part; the simplified 声 is a shorthand and does not show those original parts.

Open 声 →

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

In 息, 自 is nose and 心 is heart, showing breath or life passing through one's nose.

Open 息 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.