一声不吭

一聲不吭

yīshēng-bùkēng

idiom HSK 7-9 #18,561

Meanings

1 to not utter a word
2 to remain completely silent
3 without making a sound

Characters

to utter a sound

Examples

他一声不吭地走了。

Tā yīshēngbùkēng de zǒu le.

He left without saying a word.

她挨了批评，一声不吭。

Tā ái le pīpíng, yīshēngbùkēng.

She was criticized but didn't say a word.

Tips

memory

Literally 'not uttering a single sound' — 吭 means to make any sound at all, so 一声不吭 is absolute silence, not even a peep.

Stroke Order

一 yī

声 shēng

不 bù

吭 kēng