保密 (bǎo mì) — to keep confidential, to maintain secrecy | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

保密 (bǎomì) is a verb meaning 'to keep something confidential' — a single act of guarding specific information, not a general duty (use 守口如瓶 for the latter).

verb

to keep confidentialto maintain secrecy

Examples

保密，。
Zhè jiàn shì xū yào bǎo mì, bù néng gào sù bié rén.
This matter needs to be kept confidential — don't tell anyone else.
保密。
Gōng sī guī dìng suǒ yǒu yuán gōng bì xū bǎo mì kè hù xìn xī.
The company requires all employees to keep client information confidential.
保密。
Wǒ men zhī jiān de tán huà qǐng nǐ bǎo mì.
Please keep our conversation confidential.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

密mìsecret

保 means keep, 密 means secret; together they mean to keep something confidential.

Characters in this word

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

人人rénperson
子子zǐchild

保 originally showed a person 人 carrying a child 子 on their back, which led to the sense of protecting.

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

宓山密

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.

Appears in

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