Meaning of 隐私
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- secrets
- private business
- privacy
How to use 隐私
隐私 is a noun used for personal information or private matters that others should not pry into. It often appears with verbs like 保护 (bǎohù, protect), 侵犯 (qīnfàn, violate) and 尊重 (zūnzhòng, respect). Example: 请尊重别人的隐私。 (Qǐng zūnzhòng biérén de yǐnsī.) Please respect other people's privacy.
隐 (yǐn) means hidden, as in 隐藏 (yǐncáng), and 私 (sī) means private or personal, as in 私人 (sīrén). Put them together and you get the hidden, private part of your life: your privacy.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 隐 with a fourth tone or confuse it with 稳 (wěn, stable), which has a similar right side. Also, 隐私 is a noun only, so do not use it as an adjective for "private". Use 私人 (sīrén) instead, as in 私人电话 (sīrén diànhuà, a private call).
隐私 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.
隐 yǐn · to hide · 11 strokes
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私 sī · personal · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 隐私.
| 私人 | sīrén | private; personal |
| 隐藏 | yǐncáng | to hide; to conceal |
| 走私 | zǒusī | to smuggle; to have an illicit affair |
| 隐瞒 | yǐnmán | to conceal; to hide (a taboo subject) |
| 自私 | zìsī | selfish; selfishness |
| 私下 | sīxià | in private |
| 隐形 | yǐnxíng | invisible |
| 私事 | sīshì | personal matters |
| 隐蔽 | yǐnbì | to conceal; to hide |
| 无私 | wúsī | selfless; unselfish |
| 私自 | sīzì | private; personal; secretly; without explicit approval |
| 隐身 | yǐnshēn | to hide oneself; invisible (person or online status) |
Questions about 隐私
What does 隐私 mean?
隐私 (yǐnsī) means "secrets; private business" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 隐私?
隐私 is made of 2 characters: 隐 (11 strokes), 私 (7 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 隐私 an HSK word?
Yes. 隐私 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 隐私 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 隐私 is written 隱私.
How do you say "privacy policy" in Chinese?
A privacy policy is 隐私政策 (yǐnsī zhèngcè). You will see it on websites and apps, often next to 用户协议 (yònghù xiéyì, user agreement).
Is it rude to call something someone's 隐私?
No, it is neutral. Saying 这是我的隐私 (zhè shì wǒ de yǐnsī, this is my private business) is a common, polite way to decline a personal question like salary or age.