三緘其口

See also: 三缄其口

Chinese

		three	letters; to close; seal	his; her; its his; her; its; theirs; that; such; it (refers to something preceding it)	mouth; (a measure word, for people, livestock or utensils)
trad. (三緘其口)		三	緘	其	口
simp. (三缄其口)		三	缄	其	口
Literally: “to seal one's mouth thrice-over”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): sānjiānqíkǒu

  (Zhuyin): ㄙㄢ ㄐㄧㄢ ㄑㄧˊ ㄎㄡˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): saam¹ gaam¹ kei⁴ hau²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: sānjiānqíkǒu
    • Zhuyin: ㄙㄢ ㄐㄧㄢ ㄑㄧˊ ㄎㄡˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: sanjiancíkǒu
    • Wade–Giles: san¹-chien¹-chʻi²-kʻou³
    • Yale: sān-jyān-chí-kǒu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sanjianchyikoou
    • Palladius: саньцзяньцикоу (sanʹczjanʹcikou)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sän⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi³⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: saam¹ gaam¹ kei⁴ hau²
    • Yale: sāam gāam kèih háu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: saam¹ gaam¹ kei⁴ hau²
    • Guangdong Romanization: sam¹ gam¹ kéi⁴ heo²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /saːm⁵⁵ kaːm⁵⁵ kʰei̯²¹ hɐu̯³⁵/

Idiom

三緘其口

1. keeping one's mouth shut more than once; be extremely selective in one's words