cim4潛潜
Jyutpingcim4
Yalechìhm
Definition
To hide or conceal oneself so as not to be seen.
colloquialdaily actionsslang
How it's used
Commonly used in the slang term 潛水 to describe someone who stops participating in group chats or disappears from social circles. It carries a sense of intentional avoidance rather than just being busy. The character itself is rarely used as a standalone verb in daily speech, appearing mostly in compound words or the aforementioned slang.
Examples
He always goes silent and doesn't reply to messages.
Why did you sneak into the room?
Related words
Common phrases
to go silent or disappear from social media
to lurk or lie in wait
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 匿, which is the more common, informal way to say hide or conceal oneself. 潛 often implies a more deliberate or long-term state of being hidden or inactive.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
