Chinese word

暗地里

Pronunciation

Pinyinàn dì lǐ

Meaning

  • adverbsecretly

Example

她暗地里练习日语，不告诉任何人。tā àn dì lǐ liàn xí rì yǔ bú gào sù rèn hé rén

She secretly practices Japanese without telling anyone.

Illustration for 暗地里 (secretly)

More examples

他暗地里资助那家初创公司，董事会并不知情。tā àn dì lǐ zī zhù nà jiā chū chuàng gōng sī dǒng shì huì bìng bù zhī qíng

He secretly funded that startup, and the board was unaware.

Core concept

An action takes place in a hidden corner beyond other people's notice.

Common phrases

  • 暗地里资助àn dì lǐ zī zhù

    secretly fund

  • 暗地里调查àn dì lǐ diào chá

    secretly investigate

Similar words

偷偷tōu tōu: Doing something secretly without telling anyone about it.
悄悄qiāo qiāo: Doing something quietly so that no one notices.
暗中àn zhōng: Carrying out an action secretly behind the scenes and away from public knowledge.

Definition in Chinese

在不为人知或避开他人注意的情况下悄悄做某事，强调行为的隐蔽性。zài bù wéi rén zhī huò bì kāi tā rén zhù yì de qíng kuàng xià qiāo qiāo zuò mǒu shì qiáng diào xíng wéi de yǐn bì xìng

Word origin

暗地里 (àndìlǐ, "secretly") combines 暗 (àn, "dark") + 地 (dì, "ground") + 里 (lǐ, "inside") to evoke an action carried out in a dark, hidden place.

Usage tips

  • This everyday adverb can describe an ordinary action kept from other people, so it does not by itself suggest wrongdoing or high drama.

Other meanings

  • on the slyadverb
  • behind the scenesadverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word