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息事宁人

xī shì níng réndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to keep the peace / to patch up a quarrel (idiom)
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-c13241639f67b7ba. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

息事寧人 息事宁人 [xi1 shi4 ning2 ren2] /to keep the peace; to patch up a quarrel (idiom)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 息事寧人

  • 息
    xī

    (bound form) breath / (bound form) to cease / to stop / (bound form) to rest / (bound form) news / (bound form) interest (on money) / (bound form) to grow / to multiply / (literary) one's child / Taiwan pr. [xí]

  • 事
    shì

    matter / thing / item / work / affair / CL:件[jiàn],樁|桩[zhuāng],回[huí]

  • 宁
    zhù

    to store / to stand / space between the door and the entrance screen

    nìng

    would rather / to prefer / how (emphatic) / Taiwan pr. [níng]

    níng

    peaceful / to pacify / to visit (one's parents etc)

    Níng

    abbr. for Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region 寧夏回族自治區|宁夏回族自治区[Níng xià Huí zú Zì zhì qū] / abbr. for Nanjing 南京[Nán jīng] / surname Ning

  • 人

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.