缄

椷/緘

jiān

咸 + 纟

Definitions

jiān (wooden) box; cup; old variant of 緘|缄[jiān]; letter

jiān letters; to close; to seal

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 纟 represents the meaning and 咸 represents the sound. Simplified form of 緘.

Semantic: 纟 Phonetic: 咸

About

缄 is a phono-semantic compound: the left component 纟 (simplified from 糸) suggests silk, thread, and binding, while 咸 indicates the pronunciation. (The traditional form is 緘.) Originally it meant tying a box or securing a letter with cords, which broadened to sealing or closing tightly. Today the character most often appears in phrases for keeping one's mouth deliberately shut, silence as a form of sealing.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他始终保持缄默。

Tā shǐzhōng bǎochí jiānmò.

He always remains silent.

请缄口不谈此事。

Qǐng jiānkǒu bù tán cǐ shì.

Please keep quiet about this matter.

她缄默地离开了房间。

Tā jiānmò de líkāi le fángjiān.

She left the room silently.

在会议上，他选择了缄默。

Zài huìyì shàng, tā xuǎnzé le jiānmò.

In the meeting, he chose to remain silent.

对于敏感问题，最好保持缄默。

Duìyú mǐngǎn wèntí, zuìhǎo bǎochí jiānmò.

Regarding sensitive issues, it's best to remain silent.

他缄口不言，以免说错话。

Tā jiānkǒu bù yán, yǐmiǎn shuō cuò huà.

He kept his mouth shut to avoid saying the wrong thing.

在法庭上，证人有权保持缄默。

Zài fǎtíng shàng, zhèngrén yǒu quán bǎochí jiānmò.

In court, witnesses have the right to remain silent.

尽管被多次质问，他依然缄默不语。

Jǐnguǎn bèi duōcì zhìwèn, tā yīrán jiānmò bù yǔ.

Despite being questioned multiple times, he still remained silent.

Related Characters

Component: 咸

Component: 纟

缄