Chinese word dictionary

韬光养晦

tāo guāng yǎng huì · to conceal one's strengths and bide one's time (idiom); to hide one's light under a bushel

Practice word

Word information

Simplified韬光养晦

Traditional韜光養晦

Pinyintāo guāng yǎng huì

Part of speechDictionary

HSK 3.0Not listed

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

韬tāo

sheath, scabbard, bow case

光guāng

light; bright, brilliant; only, merely

养yǎng

to raise, to rear, to bring up; to support

晦huì

dark, obscure, unclear; night

How to learn 韬光养晦

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

养yǎng

to raise (animals); to bring up (children); to keep (pets); to support; to give birth

不光bùguāng

not the only one; not only

光guāng

light; ray (CL:道[dao4]); bright; shiny; only; merely; used up; finished; to leave (a part of the body) uncovered

阳光yángguāng

sunshine; (of personality) upbeat; energetic; transparent (open to public scrutiny)

养成yǎngchéng

to cultivate; to raise; to form (a habit); to acquire

灯光dēngguāng

(stage) lighting; light