TongTong
Sign in

隐瞒 (yǐn mán) — to conceal, to hide (the truth or a sensitive matter); to cover up

Definition

隐瞒 means to deliberately conceal a fact — usually truth, feelings, or evidence — from others. Stronger than 掩饰 (which can mean merely glossing over), and about hiding knowledge rather than 掩盖's physical or abstract covering.

verb
to concealto hide (the truth or a sensitive matter)to cover up

Examples

  • 隐瞒。
    Tā duì zì jǐ de bìng qíng yì zhí yǐn mán bú bào.
    He has been concealing his illness and not reporting it.
  • 隐瞒。
    Nǐ méi bì yào yǐn mán nèi xīn de xiǎng fǎ.
    You don't need to hide what you really think.
  • 隐瞒。
    Jǐng fāng diào chá fā xiàn tā yǐn mán le dà liàng zhèng jù.
    The police investigation found that he had concealed a large amount of evidence.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

隐yǐnconceal
瞒mánhide

隐 and 瞒 both cover something up, so the word means to keep the truth hidden.

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 隱; 隐 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
㥯
㥯㥯隱yǐn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 隱 pairs 阝 (阜) with 㥯 to give the sound; the simplified 隐 is a shorthand, so its right side is not 㥯.

Open 隐 →

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 瞞; 瞒 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
目目mùeye
Sound part声符shēngfú
㒼
㒼㒼瞞mán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 瞞 pairs 目 (eye) with 㒼, which gives the sound and means to cover tightly; this explanation is about 瞞, not 瞒.

Open 瞒 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Communication & Speech3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.