Quiet, But Kind - How to Identify ‘The Silent Type’ Personality in Chinese

There are many types of people with many types of personalities. In Chinese we use different words to categorize different interpersonal characteristics. One such word is "闷葫芦 (mèn húlu)". This type of person isn’t necessarily popular, because he/she is considered to be overall quiet, a silent type. It’s hard to know what exactly this person is thinking. Most of the time you have to guess at what he/she is thinking because he/she will not communicate it directly.

We use this word often in daily conversation around the office, at home, school, etc.

When I come across this type of person, I brace myself for a more difficult relationship--not because the person is a bad person, just because it can be harder to understand this type of person (since I am more outgoing), and keep a positive/healthy and open relationship.

So what does "闷葫芦 (mèn húlu)" mean, exactly?

闷葫芦 (mèn húlu): complete mystery; silent person.

How do we use it in daily conversation?

My friends and family often say: "他真是个闷葫芦，把什么都闷在心里。 (Tā zhēnshi gè mènhúlu, bǎ shénme dōu mèn zài xīnlǐ.) He is a really silent person and never talks things through with others."

Let’s take a look at what each character means so we can understand this term better:

闷 (mèn): sealed; airtight; tightly closed.

One of my favorite things about Chinese is that it has a wide range of depth and meaning, especially when it comes to characters, or combinations of characters that have evolved into daily conversation piece over time. One such word is "放水 (fàngshuǐ)".

It has, first, a very literal meaning:
放水 (fàngshuǐ): v. (of a reservoir) draw off; disembogue.
In some rainy seasons, there is too much water in the rivers or rice fields. People will use some tools to "放水 (fàngshuǐ)" for the safety or harvest.

放 (fàng): v. put, release, free, liberate.
水 (shuǐ): n. water.

You can imagine in ancient China this word would have been used a lot because agriculture, the seasons, and the harvest were so important to daily life. Here are some examples of how we use this word with the literal meaning nowadays:

Examples:
Qǐng dǎkāi zhámén fàngshuǐ.
请 打开 闸门 放水。
Please open the gate to drain.

Zhè tiáo hé shénme shíhòu fàngshuǐ?
这 条 河 什么 时候 放水？
When does the river need to be drained?

But we don’t necessarily talk about the seasons, agriculture or the harvest as much now in the 21st century. So how do we use this word nowadays, in a more metaphorical way?...Read More

Quiz:

1. What does this sentence "Jason在游泳比赛中给Kombi放水了 (Jason zài yóuyǒng bǐsài zhōng gěi Kombi fàngshuǐ le)" mean?

A. Kombi deliberately drained water from the swimming pool in the competition.
B. Jason deliberately lost to Kombi in the swimming competition.
C. Jason won Kombi in the swimming competition.
D. Kombi put enough water in the swimming pool before the competition.
See Answer