Chinese word

秘密

Pronunciation

Pinyinmì mì

Meaning

  • nounsecret

Example

不要把秘密告诉妈妈。bú yào bǎ mì mì gào sù mā mā

Don't tell Mom the secret.

Illustration for 秘密 (secret)

More examples

他答应我会保守秘密。tā dā yìng wǒ huì báo shǒu mì mì

He promised me he would keep the secret.

Core concept

Information held inside a person or group rather than released to everyone.

Common phrases

  • 保守秘密báo shǒu mì mì

    keep a secret

  • 揭露秘密jiē lù mì mì

    reveal a secret

  • 泄露秘密xiè lòu mì mì

    leak a secret

  • 个人秘密gè rén mì mì

    personal secret

Similar words

隐私yǐn sī: Personal information or details of private life that a person does not want others to know.
机密jī mì: Important information kept within an organization and forbidden from being shared outside it.

Definition in Chinese

个人或组织不对外公开、需要保守或不愿让多数人知道的事或信息。gè rén huò zǔ zhī bú duì wài gōng kāi xū yào báo shǒu huò bú yuàn ràng duō shù rén zhī dào de shì huò xìn xī

Word origin

The characters 秘 (mì, "hidden") and 密 (mì, "closed off") create the image of knowledge kept out of general view.

Usage tips

  • In conversation, 这是秘密 (zhè shì mìmì, "this is a secret") can mark a boundary of trust and close a topic without explaining the reason.

Related words

  • 保密bǎo mìkeep secretverb
  • 秘密的mì mì desecretadjective
  • 秘密性mì mì xìngsecrecynoun

Word lists with this word