闭口不谈 bì kǒu bù tán keep mum

Explanation

指紧紧闭上嘴巴，一句话也不说。通常用来形容对某事保密或不愿提及。

Refers to tightly closing one's mouth and not saying a word. Usually used to describe keeping something secret or unwilling to mention it.

Origin Story

从前，在一个小山村里，住着一位德高望重的老人。他一生行善积德，深受村民的爱戴。有一天，村里发生了一件大事，一位年轻的村民不小心丢失了一件重要的家传之宝。大家都在四处寻找，却毫无线索。这时，有人想起老人曾经说过，他知道一些关于这件宝物的事情。村民们纷纷来到老人家中，希望能从他那里得到线索。可是，老人却闭口不谈，无论大家如何劝说，他始终紧闭嘴唇，一言不发。村民们非常着急，因为这件宝物对年轻村民来说意义非凡，一旦丢失，将给他的家庭带来巨大的打击。他们不明白老人为何如此沉默，难道老人真的知道宝物的下落，却不愿意透露吗？经过几天的反复劝说，老人终于开口了。原来，老人当年曾亲眼目睹这件宝物被一位外乡人带走，他本想向村民们说明情况，但担心无法证明自己的话，反而会使事情变得更加复杂，所以才选择了闭口不谈。最终，在老人的指点下，宝物被找了回来，村民们对老人的智慧和为人处世之道更加敬佩。

cóngqián, zài yīgè xiǎoshān cūn lǐ, zhùzhe yī wèi dé gāo wàngzhòng de lǎorén. Tā yīshēng xíngshàn jīdé, shēnshòu cūnmín de àidài. Yǒu yītiān, cūn lǐ fāshēngle yī jiàn dàshì, yī wèi niánqīng de cūnmín bù xiǎoxīn diūshīle yī jiàn zhòngyào de jiāchuán zhī bǎo. Dàjiā dōu zài sìchù xúnzhǎo, què háo wú xiànsuǒ. Zhèshí, yǒurén xiǎng qǐ lǎorén céngjīng shuō guò, tā zhīdào yīxiē guānyú zhè jiàn bǎowù de shìqíng. Cūnmínmen fēnfēn lái dào lǎorén jiā zhōng, xīwàng néng cóng tā nàlǐ dédào xiànsuǒ. Kěshì, lǎorén què bìkǒu bù tán, wúlùn dàjiā rúhé quǎnshuō, tā shǐzhōng jǐn bì zuǐchún, yīyán bùfā. Cūnmínmen fēicháng zhāojí, yīnwèi zhè jiàn bǎowù duì niánqīng cūnmín lái shuō yìyì fēifán, yídàn diūshī, jiāng gěi tā de jiātíng dài lái jùdà de dǎjī. Tāmen bù míngbái lǎorén wèihé rúcǐ chénmò, nándào lǎorén zhēn de zhīdào bǎowù de xiàluò, què bù yuànyì tòulù ma? Jīngguò jǐ tiān de fǎnfù quǎnshuō, lǎorén zhōngyú kāikǒu le. Yuánlái, lǎorén dāngnián céng qīnyǎn mùdǔ zhè jiàn bǎowù bèi yī wèi wài xiāng rén dài zǒu, tā běn xiǎng xiàng cūnmínmen shuōmíng qíngkuàng, dàn dānxīn wúfǎ zhèngmíng zìjǐ de huà, fǎn'ér huì shǐ shìqíng biàn de gèngjiā fùzá, suǒyǐ cái xuǎnzé le bìkǒu bù tán. Zuìzhōng, zài lǎorén de zhǐdiǎn xià, bǎowù bèi zhǎo le huí lái, cūnmínmen duì lǎorén de zhìhuì hé wéirén chǔshì zhīdào gèngjiā jìngpèi.

Once upon a time, in a small mountain village, there lived a highly respected old man. He had spent his life doing good deeds and was deeply loved by the villagers. One day, a major event occurred in the village: a young villager accidentally lost an important heirloom. Everyone searched everywhere, but to no avail. At this time, someone remembered that the old man had once mentioned that he knew something about the treasure. Villagers rushed to the old man's house, hoping to get clues from him. But the old man remained silent, and no matter how much they persuaded him, he kept his lips tightly sealed. The villagers were very anxious, because this treasure was of great significance to the young villager, and once lost, it would bring a huge blow to his family. They didn't understand why the old man was so silent. Did the old man really know where the treasure was, but he was unwilling to reveal it? After several days of repeated persuasion, the old man finally spoke up. It turned out that the old man had witnessed the treasure being taken away by a stranger years ago, and he had wanted to explain to the villagers, but he was afraid that he couldn't prove his words, and it would only make things more complicated, so he chose to remain silent. Eventually, under the old man's guidance, the treasure was found, and the villagers admired the old man's wisdom and conduct even more.

Usage

作谓语、定语；表示不说，沉默。

zuò wèiyǔ, dìngyǔ; biǎoshì bù shuō, chénmò

Used as predicate or attributive; means not speaking, silence.

Examples

• 他闭口不谈自己的过去。

  tā bìkǒu bù tán zìjǐ de guòqù

  He kept mum about his past.

• 面对记者的提问，他闭口不谈此事。

  miànduì jìzhě de tíwèn, tā bìkǒu bù tán cǐshì

  He clammed up when questioned by the reporters.

• 关于事故的原因，他们闭口不谈。

  guānyú shìgù de yuányīn, tāmen bìkǒu bù tán

  They kept silent about the cause of the accident.

Related Idioms

• 守口如瓶

• 缄口不言

Opposite Idioms

• 畅所欲言

• 侃侃而谈