Meaning of 沉默
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- taciturn
- uncommunicative
- silent
How to use 沉默
沉默 describes a quiet or reserved person, and it can also mean to stay silent in a moment when you could speak. It often appears as 保持沉默 (bǎochí chénmò, to remain silent). Example: 他听完以后沉默了很久。(Tā tīng wán yǐhòu chénmò le hěn jiǔ.) After hearing it, he was silent for a long time.
沉 (chén) means to sink, and 默 (mò) means silent. Picture your words sinking deep under water until nothing can be heard: that is 沉默, silence.
Common mistake: Learners mix up 默 (mò) with 黑 (hēi, black), because 默 contains 黑 on the left. Also do not confuse 沉默 with 幽默 (yōumò, humor). They share the same 默 but mean very different things.
沉默 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
沉 chén · to submerge · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
默 mò · silent · 16 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
Related words
Words that share a character with 沉默.
| 沉重 | chénzhòng | heavy; hard |
| 默默 | mòmò | in silence; not speaking |
| 幽默 | yōumò | (loanword) humor; humorous |
| 沉浸 | chénjìn | to soak; to permeate |
| 沉迷 | chénmí | to be engrossed; to be absorbed with |
| 消沉 | xiāochén | to sink into despondency; (of morale, willpower etc) to diminish; to plummet |
| 沉闷 | chénmèn | oppressive (of weather); heavy |
| 沉思 | chénsī | to contemplate; to ponder |
| 默契 | mòqì | tacit understanding; unwritten agreement; rapport |
| 沉着 | chénzhuó | steady; calm and collected |
| 默默无闻 | mòmò-wúwén | (idiom) unknown; unrenowned |
| 沉淀 | chéndiàn | (chemistry) to settle; to precipitate; (chemistry) sediment; precipitate |
Questions about 沉默
What does 沉默 mean?
沉默 (chénmò) means "taciturn; uncommunicative" and is used as a adjective and verb.
How do you write 沉默?
沉默 is made of 2 characters: 沉 (7 strokes), 默 (16 strokes). That is 23 strokes in total.
Is 沉默 an HSK word?
Yes. 沉默 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 沉默 and 安静?
安静 (ānjìng) means quiet or calm and can describe places, like a quiet room. 沉默 is about people not speaking, often with a sense of holding back or heavy feelings.
Can 沉默 be used as a noun?
Yes. In phrases like 打破沉默 (dǎpò chénmò, to break the silence), 沉默 works like the noun silence. There is also the saying 沉默是金 (chénmò shì jīn), silence is golden.