若无其事
若无其事 (ruò wú qí shì) literally means “as if nothing happened” and expresses “betray nothing of what happened”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving relationships and character.
Also searched as: ruo wu qi shi, ruo wu qi shi,若无其事 meaning, 若无其事 in english
Betray nothing of what happened
Pronunciation: ruò wú qí shì Literal meaning: As if nothing happened
Origin & Usage
Behaving as if (若) there were no (无) such (其) matter (事). The phrase reports a performance and declines to say what is behind it, which is exactly its usefulness: the same four characters cover admirable composure, deliberate concealment and genuine indifference, and the listener has to supply which. Chinese narrative uses it at the moment a character walks back into a room, and the tension in the sentence comes from the observer not knowing either.
Examples
English: "After the argument, he acted as if nothing had occurred."
Chinese: 争吵之后，他若无其事地继续工作。
Related Chinese Idioms
Similar idioms about relationships & character
名副其实
míng fù qí shí
Living up to one's name or reputation
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长话短说
cháng huà duǎn shuō
Make a long story short
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拐弯抹角
guǎi wān mò jiǎo
Speak or act in deliberately indirect manner
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道听途说
dào tīng tú shuō
Unreliable information from casual hearsay
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大同小异
dà tóng xiǎo yì
Essentially the same with minor differences
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轻而易举
qīng ér yì jǔ
Easy; effortless
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恰到好处
qià dào hǎo chù
Stopped at exactly the right point
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司空见惯
sī kōng jiàn guàn
So common as to attract no attention
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does 若无其事 mean in English?
若无其事 (ruò wú qí shì) literally translates to “As if nothing happened” and is used to express “Betray nothing of what happened”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Relationships & Character category.
When is 若无其事 used?
Situation: After the argument, he acted as if nothing had occurred.
What is the pinyin for 若无其事?
The pinyin pronunciation for 若无其事 is “ruò wú qí shì”.