📖 Meaning
To swallow one's voice and endure one's anger — suffering in silence without daring to speak out. It describes someone who suppresses their resentment, bears humiliation, and refrains from voicing complaints under oppression or mistreatment.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom first appears in the Yuan dynasty play "Black Whirlwind" (《黑旋风》) by the playwright Gao Wenxiu (高文秀). In the opening act, a character laments, "I can only swallow my voice and endure my anger, hiding my traces and concealing my form" (我只是吞声忍气，匿迹潜形). The line captures the helplessness of an individual forced to suppress their grievances and remain invisible. Over time, the phrase was condensed into the four-character idiom used today to describe silent endurance of injustice.
💡 Example Usage
他在公司里吞声忍气多年，终于等到了翻身的机会。
He swallowed his anger and endured in silence at the company for years, finally waiting for his chance to turn the tables.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 吞声忍气
- Pinyin: tūn shēng rěn qì
- Literal Translation: swallow, sound, endure, anger
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4