暗中

àn zhōng

HSK 3.0 Level 7 Noun Uncommon

Definitions

1. in the dark
2. in secret
3. on the sly
4. surreptitiously

Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 公开 gōng kāi 公开 gōng kāi open; overt; public When meaning 'openly' vs 'in secret'.: open; overt; public

Register variants

1 item

• 暗地里 àn dì li 暗地里 àn dì li secretly; inwardly; on the sly More colloquial variant for 'in secret'.: secretly; inwardly; on the sly

Synonyms

2 items

• 秘密 mì mì 秘密 mì mì secret; private; confidential; clandestine When meaning 'in secret' or 'secretly'.: secret; private; confidential; clandestine
• 偷偷 tōu tōu 偷偷 tōu tōu stealthily When meaning 'on the sly' or 'surreptitiously'.: stealthily

Usage notes

Collocations

暗中 is often used with verbs like 观察 (observe), 调查 (investigate), 帮助 (help), implying a covert or unnoticed action.

Example Sentences

2 shown

他 暗中 观察了对方很久。

He secretly observed the other party for a long time.

湯姆 暗中 笑瑪麗。

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 5663522)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org. AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 暗中

• 暗中监视 暗中监视 àn zhōng jiān shì: to monitor secretly

Child Words of 暗中

• 中 中 zhōng: within
• 中 中 zhòng: to hit (the mark)
• 暗 暗 àn: dark