鼠键踪 (shǔjiànzōng): moving furtively like a rat

Meanings

Tā shǔjiànzōng de liū jìnle wū lǐ, bù xiǎng ràng rén fāxiàn.

He slipped into the room with furtive, rat-like movements, hoping no one would notice.

Nà huǒ rén xíngshì shǔjiànzōng, xiǎnrán bù huái hǎoyì.

That crew moves around in shady, sneaking ways — clearly up to no good.

register

Rare and literary. The image is of a rat darting in and out of hiding; compare the much more common 鬼鬼祟祟 for everyday speech.

鼠 shǔ

键 jiàn

踪 zōng