躲藏

• Pinyin: duǒ cáng
• Hanzi breakdown: 躲 = 身 (body) + 朵 (cluster) — body tucked away; 藏 = 艹 (grass/vegetation) + 臧 (to store/preserve) — to hide under vegetation

Meaning

To hide; to conceal oneself; to take cover. Physically concealing one's presence to avoid detection.

躲藏 specifically refers to a person hiding themselves, often to avoid being found. Common in children's games (捉迷藏 — hide and seek), wartime narratives, and crime or suspense contexts. Unlike 躲避 (to evade), 躲藏 always implies physical concealment.

Examples

1. 战争年代，村民们白天在山林中躲藏，夜晚才悄悄返回家中取粮。 During the war years, villagers hid in the mountains and forests during the day, and only quietly returned home at night to get food.
2. 孩子们在院子里玩捉迷藏，一个个找地方躲藏，等待同伴来发现。 The kids played hide-and-seek in the yard, each one finding a place to hide and waiting for their friends to find them.
3. 逃犯在城市中辗转躲藏了三个月，最终还是被警方的调查网络锁定。 The fugitive moved from place to place in the city, hiding for three months, but was ultimately tracked down by the police investigation network.

Usage Guide

Context: games, war, crime, narrative

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 在那段动荡岁月里，地下工作者昼伏夜出，辗转于城市各处躲藏，以保存力量等待时机。(During those turbulent years, underground operatives hid by day and moved at night, concealing themselves in various parts of the city to preserve their strength and await the right moment.)
• 这只受伤的幼鸟躲藏在灌木丛深处，直到主人轻声呼唤，才小心翼翼地探出头来。(The injured fledgling was hiding deep in the undergrowth, and only when its owner called softly did it cautiously poke its head out.)

Don't Say

• 他把文件躲藏起来 — 躲藏 refers to a person hiding themselves; for objects use 藏起来 or 隐匿; 躲藏 is reflexive and cannot take an object

Origin & History

躲 (to dodge/hide) + 藏 (to conceal) — two components reinforcing the single action of hiding oneself from others

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal