心照不宣 (xīn zhào bù xuān) — (idiom) have a tacit understanding; mutual awareness without words

Definition

A four-character idiom (chengyu) for an unspoken mutual understanding — both sides know, but nobody says it aloud. Pairs naturally with 默契 ('tacit rapport'); use 心照不宣 when the unspoken agreement is the focus.

idiom
have a tacit understandingmutual awareness without words

Examples

  • ，心照不宣。
    Tā men liǎ duì shì yí xiào, xīn zhào bù xuān.
    The two of them exchanged a smile, understanding each other without words.
  • 心照不宣。
    Wǒ men zhī jiān yǒu yì zhǒng xīn zhào bù xuān de mò qì.
    There is a kind of unspoken understanding between us.
  • 心照不宣，。
    Zhè jiàn shì dà jiā xīn zhào bù xuān jiù hǎo, bié tiǎo míng le shuō.
    On this matter, let's all just have a tacit understanding and not make it explicit.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

心照heart knows
心xīnheart照zhàoknow
主谓Subject + predicate
不宣not declare
不bùnot宣xuāndeclare
偏正Modifier + head

心照 suggests the heart is aware, and 不宣 suggests not declaring; together they mean tacit understanding.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Open 心 →

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
灬Written in full as火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
昭
昭zhāo照zhào
Same sound today

照 uses 灬, a bottom form of 火 (fire), plus 昭 for the sound.

Open 照 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
亘
亘gèn宣xuān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

宣 pairs the roof 宀, pointing to the emperor's main hall, with 亘 as the sound part. From that hall meaning, it came to mean clear or evident.

Open 宣 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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