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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liánhéCoordinate

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 →
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Idioms & Set Phrases

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