讳莫如深 — “To keep a secret profoundly”
讳莫如深 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to keep a secret profoundly”. To conceal something very deeply; to be extremely reticent about an important matter. Literally, “To conceal deeply; to keep profoundly secret”.
讳莫如深 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 讳huì
- 莫mò
- 如rú
- 深shēn
讳莫如深 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 讳莫如深
Origin and Story of 讳莫如深
During the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Zhuang of Lu was fond of his concubine Meng Ren and desired her son, Ban, to inherit the throne. His minister, Shuya, however, wished for Qingfu to become king, a suggestion Duke Zhuang rejected.
Later, Ji You assassinated Shuya and had Ban appointed as the ruler.
Qingfu then killed Ban and subsequently made Duke Kai king.
A year later, Qingfu murdered Duke Kai and seized the throne for himself.
Confucius, in compiling his Spring and Autumn Annals, did not record this particular sequence of historical events. People then remarked that he was '讳莫如深' (keeping the matter profoundly concealed).
Idioms Related to 讳莫如深
Synonyms of 讳莫如深
Antonyms of 讳莫如深
More idioms starting with 讳
Questions about 讳莫如深
- What does 讳莫如深 mean?
- 讳莫如深 (huì mò rú shēn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to keep a secret profoundly”.
- How do you pronounce 讳莫如深?
- 讳莫如深 is pronounced huì mò rú shēn in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 讳莫如深 literally mean?
- Literally, 讳莫如深 means “to conceal deeply; to keep profoundly secret”. It is used to mean “to keep a secret profoundly”.
- Where does 讳莫如深 come from?
- 讳莫如深 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 讳莫如深?
- 讳：隐讳；深：事件重大。原意为事件重大，讳而不言。后指把事情隐瞒得很紧。