TongTong
Sign in

无声无息 (wú shēng wú xī) — (idiom) silent and still; without sound or movement; (idiom) unknown, obscure; without attracting attention

Definition

Literally 'without sound, without breath', this idiom describes something that happens or exists quietly and unnoticed — fading into the background rather than drawing any attention.

idiom
silent and stillwithout sound or movementunknownobscurewithout attracting attention

Examples

  • ，无声无息，。
    Shēn yè lǐ, sēn lín zhōng wú shēng wú xī, zhǐ yǒu yuè liang guà zài tiān kōng.
    Late at night, the forest was silent and still, with only the moon hanging in the sky.
  • ，无声无息，。
    Tā zài gōng sī lǐ gān le èr shí nián, yì zhí wú shēng wú xī, zhí dào tuì xiū yě méi rén zhù yì dào tā.
    He worked at the company for twenty years, always obscure and unnoticed, until retirement no one paid attention to him.
  • 无声无息，。
    Zhè ge jì huà wú shēng wú xī dì qǔ xiāo le, méi yǒu rèn hé tōng zhī.
    This plan was canceled without a trace, without any notice.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

无声no sound
无wúno声shēngsound
动宾Verb + object
无息no breath
无wúno息xībreath
动宾Verb + object

无声 says no sound and 无息 says no breath, so it means silent and still.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 →

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.