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潜台词 (qián tái cí) — subtext; implied meaning; unexpressed thoughts or intentions

Definition

潜台词 (qiántáicí) literally 'under-stage words' — the meaning hinted at but not said out loud, in conversation, writing, or film. Often carries a speaker's real attitude, especially when it differs from their literal words.

noun
subtextimplied meaningunexpressed thoughts or intentions

Examples

  • 潜台词。
    Tā zǒng shì tīng bù chū bié rén huà lǐ de qián tái cí.
    He always fails to pick up on the subtext in other people's words.
  • 潜台词，。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng de qián tái cí hěn shēn, hěn duō rén dōu méi kàn dǒng.
    The subtext of this movie is very deep; many people didn't understand it.
  • ，潜台词。
    Tā zuǐ shàng shuō tóng yì, dàn qián tái cí lǐ hái shì fǎn duì.
    He verbally agrees, but his subtext is still opposed.

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.

潜qiánhidden
台词stage words
台táistage词cíwords
偏正Modifier + head

潜 means hidden, 台 means stage, and 词 means words, together naming hidden words behind stage dialogue.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 潛; 潜 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
朁
朁cǎn潛qián
Same sound today

The form 潛 has 水 as a meaning part and 朁 as a sound part; this note is about 潛, not the simplified 潜.

Open 潜 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臺; 台 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 台 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (窗台, 电视台) it is 臺; in others (台灯, 台球) (台风) it is 檯 or 台 or 颱.

The traditional form 臺 is the 喬 + 室 form; earlier versions combined a sound part with 室, and an old reading saw it as a watch tower.

Open 台 →

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 詞; 词 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
司
司sī詞cí(r)
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 詞 uses 言, meaning speech, and 司 to show how it was pronounced; the simplified 词 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 词 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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