沉默

沉默

1. to be silent; to not speak; to be reticent; to be taciturn; to be untalkative

   保持沉默  ―  bǎochí chénmò  ―  to keep silent

   沉默許久／沉默许久  ―  chénmò xǔjiǔ  ―  to remain silent for a long time

   • 沉默是一種處世哲學，用得好時，又是一種藝術。 [MSC, trad.]
     沉默是一种处世哲学，用得好时，又是一种艺术。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 朱自清《沉默》

     Chénmò shì yī zhǒng chǔshì zhéxué, yòng de hǎo shí, yòu shì yī zhǒng yìshù. [Pinyin]

     Silence in social conduct is a kind of philosophy and an art form when used well.

   • 但這孩子卻也有可敬的地方：他的從容，他的沉默，他的獨斷獨行，他的一去不回頭，都是力的表現，都是強者適者的表現。決不婆婆媽媽的，決不粘粘搭搭的，一針見血，一刀兩斷，這正是白種人之所以為白種人。 [MSC, trad.]
     但这孩子却也有可敬的地方：他的从容，他的沉默，他的独断独行，他的一去不回头，都是力的表现，都是强者适者的表现。决不婆婆妈妈的，决不粘粘搭搭的，一针见血，一刀两断，这正是白种人之所以为白种人。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 朱自清 (Zhu Ziqing), 《白種人——上帝的驕子》

     Dàn zhè háizi què yě yǒu kějìng de dìfang: tā de cóngróng, tā de chénmò, tā de dúduàndúxíng, tā de yī qù bù huítóu, dōu shì lì de biǎoxiàn, dōu shì qiángzhě shìzhě de biǎoxiàn. Juébù pópomāma de, juébù niánniándādā de, yīzhēnjiànxiě, yīdāoliǎngduàn, zhè zhèngshì báizhǒngrén zhī suǒ yǐ wéi báizhǒngrén. [Pinyin]

     But there was something about the child that could be respected. His leisurely way, his reticence, his arbitrariness, his way of walking ahead without looking back. These were manifestations of his power, the power of the strongest, of the fittest. The child was, by no means, overly careful, or irresolute. The child could hit the nail on the head and make a clean break. The child was a quintessential Caucasian.

• 緘默／缄默 (jiānmò)

• (literary) 默然 (mòrán)