📖 Meaning
To conceal one's form and hide one's traces, remaining completely out of sight. It describes someone who deliberately avoids detection and does not reveal the truth of their whereabouts or identity.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom is a compound formed by pairing two parallel phrases: 潜形 (to hide one's form) and 匿迹 (to conceal one's traces). Both elements appear in classical Chinese texts describing secrecy and concealment, but the four-character combination has no single definitive literary origin. It conveys the idea of vanishing so thoroughly that neither appearance nor evidence of movement remains.
💡 Example Usage
这个逃犯潜形匿迹多年，最终还是被警方抓获了。
The fugitive concealed his form and hid his traces for years, but was ultimately caught by the police.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 潜形匿迹
- Pinyin: qián xíng nì jì
- Literal Translation: hide, form, conceal, traces
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4