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一声不吭 (yī shēng bù kēng) — not say a single word; remain completely silent

Definition

Describes a person who stays completely silent — often implying stubbornness, displeasure, or withdrawal. Near-synonym of 一言不发; both are fixed phrases meaning 'not a word', while 鸦雀无声 describes an environment with no sound at all.

phrase
not say a single wordremain completely silent

Examples

  • 一声不吭，。
    Tā yī shēng bù kēng dì zuò zài jiǎo luò, shuí yě bù lǐ.
    He sat silently in the corner, ignoring everyone.
  • ，一声不吭，。
    Wǒ wèn le tā hǎo jǐ cì, tā yī shēng bù kēng, ràng wǒ hěn dān xīn.
    I asked him several times, but he didn't say a word, which made me worried.
  • 一声不吭，。
    Zhěng gè wǎn shàng tā yī shēng bù kēng, qì fen hěn gān gà.
    He didn't say a word the whole evening, and the atmosphere was very awkward.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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
亢
亢kàng吭háng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

吭 is built from 口, labeled as mouth, and 亢, which gives the sound.

Open 吭 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set Phrases

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