📖 Meaning
To keep one's mouth firmly shut, as if sealed with three strips. It describes someone who speaks with extreme caution, or who refuses or dares not to speak at all.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from Liu Xiang's 'Shuo Yuan' (Garden of Stories) in the Han dynasty. Confucius visited the Grand Temple of Zhou, where he saw a golden statue to the right of the steps. The statue's mouth was sealed with three strips, and on its back was inscribed a warning: 'This is the ancient man of prudent speech. Beware, beware! Do not speak much, for much speech brings much failure.' The image of the thrice-sealed mouth became a lasting symbol of the virtue of guarded speech.
💡 Example Usage
事关重大，他只能三缄其口，不敢多言。
With so much at stake, he could only seal his lips and dared not say more.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 三缄其口
- Pinyin: sān jiān qí kǒu
- Literal Translation: three, seal, his, mouth
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4