犹抱琵琶半遮面

猶抱琵琶半遮面

yóu bào pípa bàn zhē miàn

quotation

Meanings

1 still holding the pipa, half-hiding her face
2 to be coy and reluctant to reveal oneself / to tease rather than disclose

Characters

to hold / embrace

pipa (first syllable)

pipa (second syllable)

to cover / hide

Examples

新产品的细节还犹抱琵琶半遮面，厂商不肯透露。

Xīn chǎnpǐn de xìjié hái yóubàopípabànzhēmiàn, chǎngshāng bùkěn tòulù.

The details of the new product are still half-hidden — the manufacturer won't reveal them.

她对这个问题犹抱琵琶半遮面，不愿正面回答。

Tā duì zhège wèntí yóubàopípabànzhēmiàn, bù yuàn zhèngmiàn huídá.

On this question she's coy and evasive, unwilling to answer directly.

Tips

history

From Bai Juyi's (白居易) Tang poem 《琵琶行》 (Song of the Pipa): 千呼万唤始出来，犹抱琵琶半遮面 — 'Called a thousand times, ten thousand times, at last she emerged, still holding the pipa, half-hiding her face.' Describes a shy pipa-player on a Xunyang riverboat. Today mostly used figuratively for anything coyly half-disclosed.

usage

Very common in business/tech journalism for unreleased products, in political writing for vague policies, and in gossip for non-committal answers. Slightly playful tone.

Stroke Order

犹 yóu

抱 bào

琵 pí

琶 pá

半 bàn

遮 zhē

面 miàn