噤若寒蝉 jìnruòhánchán to keep quiet out of fear Origin Definitions Defs Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 噤 jìn nounverb to keep silent (bound form) to close the mouth and not speak; unable to speak若 ruò adjectiveadverb to seem to seem; to appear to; to be like; to look as if寒蝉 寒蟬 hánchán winter cicada a cicada that falls silent or makes little noise as the weather turns cold