How to Write 瞒 (mán) — Meaning “To hide the truth”

Imagine someone covering their eyes with both hands so they cannot see the truth — the radical 目 (eye) is hidden behind the full (满) shape of two hands. The idea is 'if you cover your eyes, you hide the truth from yourself.'

This character has 15 strokes; the left radical 目 is written with vertical lines in order: left, top, inner, bottom, then the bottom horizontal. The right part 满 starts with a dot, then horizontal, then the lower components — be careful not to make the right side too wide or narrow. A common mistake is writing the left side too small or mixing up the order of the inner strokes in 目.

睘 (qióng) is rare and means 'to look with surprise' — it has a different right side (not 满) and is not used in common words. 睚 (yá) means 'corner of the eye' and appears in the phrase 睚眦必报 (to repay even a glare), so its meaning is about a specific eye action, not hiding. In contrast, 瞒 always involves concealing information.

Commonly, 瞒 appears in words like 隐瞒 (conceal the truth) and 瞒着 (to hide something from someone). In Chinese culture, honesty is valued, so 瞒 can carry a negative sense of deception, though it may also be used neutrally for keeping a surprise. For example, parents might 瞒着 their children about a birthday party to make it a surprise.

Common words containing 瞒 include: 瞒着 (mán zhe) — To hide from someone; 隐瞒 (yǐn mán) — to conceal; to hide (the truth); 瞒不住 (mán bú zhù) — Cannot be hidden.