潜 qián — hidden; latent; secret; to hide; to conceal; secret
这个孩子身上有很大的潜力。Zhè ge hái zi shēn shàng yǒu hěn dà de qián lì.This child has great potential.
Common words: 潜力 (qián lì)、潜水 (qián shuǐ)、潜移默化 (qián yí mò huà)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to hide"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to hide", including 潜 (qián), 躲 (duǒ), 遮 (zhē). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to hide" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 潜 (qián), 躲 (duǒ), 遮 (zhē) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span qián, duǒ, zhē — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 潜 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 潜 qiánhidden; latent; secret; to hide; to conceal; secretUseful words: 潜力, 潜水
- 躲 duǒavoid; get out of way; to hide; to go into hidingUseful words: 躲藏, 躲避
- 遮 zhēcover up (a shortcoming); screen off; to hide; to concealUseful words: 遮挡, 遮盖
Common words for these 3 "to hide" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 潜 (qián) — so "to hide" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
潜力qián lìpotential; latent capacity潜水qián shuǐto dive; to go under water; (in an online forum) to lurk潜移默化qián yí mò huàimperceptible influence; to influence secretly躲藏duǒ cángto conceal oneself; to go into hiding; to take cover躲避duǒ bìto hide; to evade; to dodge; to take shelter躲年duǒ niánto avoid going home for the Chinese New Year (for any of various reasons: because one finds the festivities onerous in some way, or because it would be seen as inauspicious for one to attend, or, in former times, to avoid creditors, since it was the custom to have debts settled before New Year's Day, and once into the New Year, debtors got a reprieve)遮挡zhē dǎngto shelter; to shelter from遮盖zhē gàito hide; to cover (one's tracks)遮住zhē zhùto cover (up); to block; to obstruct; to shade
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "to hide".
躲 duǒ — avoid; get out of way; to hide; to go into hiding
下雨了，他躲到屋檐下避雨。Xià yǔ le, tā duǒ dào wū yán xià bì yǔ.It rained, and he hid under the eaves to take shelter.
Common words: 躲藏 (duǒ cáng)、躲避 (duǒ bì)、躲年 (duǒ nián)
遮 zhē — cover up (a shortcoming); screen off; to hide; to conceal
烈日当头，他用帽子遮住了阳光。Liè rì dāng tóu, tā yòng mào zi zhē zhù le yáng guāng.With the scorching sun overhead, he used his hat to block the sunlight.
Common words: 遮挡 (zhē dǎng)、遮盖 (zhē gài)、遮住 (zhē zhù)
All 3 characters
Open 潜、躲、遮 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.