bǎomì: 保密 - To Keep a Secret, Confidential

• Keywords: bǎomì, 保密, keep a secret in Chinese, Chinese for confidential, confidentiality in Chinese, NDA in Chinese, 保密协议, bǎomì meaning, what does baomi mean, business Chinese, privacy in Chinese, 秘密 vs 保密.
• Summary: Learn to use 保密 (bǎomì), the essential Chinese verb for “to keep a secret” or “maintain confidentiality.” This comprehensive guide covers its meaning, cultural context in business and daily life, and practical examples, from signing a confidentiality agreement (保密协议) to telling a friend a secret. Understand the critical difference between 保密 (bǎomì), the action, and 秘密 (mìmì), the secret itself, to master this HSK 5 term.

• Pinyin (with tone marks): bǎo mì
• Part of Speech: Verb, Adjective
• HSK Level: HSK 5
• Concise Definition: To keep something secret; to maintain confidentiality.
• In a Nutshell: 保密 (bǎomì) is the action of protecting information. It's a formal and serious concept that applies to everything from company trade secrets and government documents to a personal secret shared between friends. Think of it as building a protective wall around a piece of information. Using this term implies a duty or obligation to prevent a secret from getting out.

• 保 (bǎo): To protect, to guard, to keep. The character's ancient form often depicted a person holding or protecting a child, giving a strong sense of safeguarding something precious.
• 密 (mì): Secret, dense, close. This character contains the radical for mountain (山) over a phonetic component. You can imagine something hidden away deep in the mountains, making it secret and inaccessible.
• Together, 保 (bǎo) + 密 (mì) literally means “to protect a secret,” a perfect and direct combination of the two characters' meanings.

In Chinese culture, 保密 (bǎomì) carries significant weight, often tied to concepts of trust, loyalty, and collective responsibility. Compared to the Western concept of “privacy,” which is often centered on individual rights and personal space, 保密 is more about the shared duty to protect specific information within a relationship, a company, or the nation. When someone asks you to 保密, they are not just asking for discretion; they are testing your trustworthiness and placing their faith in you. In a business context, this is paramount. While Western business culture values transparency, Chinese business culture often places a higher premium on discretion and building trust over a long period. The ability to 保密 is a sign of a reliable and honorable partner. A signed 保密协议 (bǎomì xiéyì), or NDA, is treated with extreme seriousness. In a government or official context, 保密 is a matter of duty and national security, and the word takes on a very formal and grave tone.

保密 (bǎomì) is a versatile word used in both formal and informal situations. *In Business and Legal Contexts:* This is where you'll see 保密 most often in its formal sense. It's a standard term in contracts, employment agreements, and legal discussions.

• `保密协议 (bǎomì xiéyì)` - Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
• `保密条款 (bǎomì tiáokuǎn)` - Confidentiality Clause
• `保密信息 (bǎomì xìnxī)` - Confidential Information

*In Personal Conversations:* When telling a friend a secret, using 保密 adds a level of seriousness and emphasizes the trust you're placing in them.

• `这件事你一定要替我保密！` - You absolutely must keep this secret for me!
• It's more formal than simply saying `别告诉别人 (bié gàosù biérén)` - “Don't tell other people.”

*As an Adjective:* 保密 can be used to describe something as “confidential.”

• `这是一份保密文件。` - This is a confidential document.
• `我们的会议内容是保密的。` - The content of our meeting is confidential.

• Example 1:
  • 我告诉你一个秘密，你一定要为我保密啊！
  • Pinyin: Wǒ gàosù nǐ yī gè mìmì, nǐ yīdìng yào wèi wǒ bǎomì a!
  • English: I'll tell you a secret, but you have to keep it secret for me!
  • Analysis: A classic example of informal use between friends. The `啊 (a)` at the end softens the tone, making it a strong request rather than a harsh command.
• Example 2:
  • 在加入公司之前，所有员工都必须签署一份保密协议。
  • Pinyin: Zài jiārù gōngsī zhīqián, suǒyǒu yuángōng dōu bìxū qiānshǔ yī fèn bǎomì xiéyì.
  • English: Before joining the company, all employees must sign a confidentiality agreement.
  • Analysis: This demonstrates the formal, legal use of the term in a business context. Here, 保密 acts as an adjective modifying `协议 (xiéyì)`.
• Example 3:
  • 这是公司的商业机密，请大家做好保密工作。
  • Pinyin: Zhè shì gōngsī de shāngyè jīmì, qǐng dàjiā zuòhǎo bǎomì gōngzuò.
  • English: This is the company's trade secret, please everyone do a good job of maintaining confidentiality.
  • Analysis: `做好保密工作 (zuòhǎo bǎomì gōngzuò)` is a common phrase in corporate and government settings, meaning “to handle confidentiality properly.”
• Example 4:
  • 医生有义务为病人的病情保密。
  • Pinyin: Yīshēng yǒu yìwù wèi bìngrén de bìngqíng bǎomì.
  • English: Doctors have an obligation to maintain the confidentiality of their patients' medical conditions.
  • Analysis: This sentence highlights the professional duty associated with 保密.
• Example 5:
  • 他这个人嘴不严，根本不会保密。
  • Pinyin: Tā zhè ge rén zuǐ bù yán, gēnběn bù huì bǎomì.
  • English: This person is a blabbermouth; he can't keep a secret at all.
  • Analysis: This negative example shows what it means to fail at 保密. `嘴不严 (zuǐ bù yán)` literally means “mouth isn't tight.”
• Example 6:
  • 会议内容需要严格保密，禁止外传。
  • Pinyin: Huìyì nèiróng xūyào yángé bǎomì, jìnzhǐ wàichuán.
  • English: The contents of the meeting must be strictly kept confidential and are forbidden to be spread.
  • Analysis: `严格保密 (yángé bǎomì)` is a common collocation emphasizing the seriousness of the confidentiality required.
• Example 7:
  • 我们的新产品计划目前还处于保密阶段。
  • Pinyin: Wǒmen de xīn chǎnpǐn jìhuà mùqián hái chǔyú bǎomì jiēduàn.
  • English: Our new product plan is still in the confidential stage at present.
  • Analysis: This shows 保密 used adjectivally to describe a “stage” or “phase.”
• Example 8:
  • 你放心，我向你保证，绝对保密。
  • Pinyin: Nǐ fàngxīn, wǒ xiàng nǐ bǎozhèng, juéduì bǎomì.
  • English: Don't worry, I promise you, I'll keep it absolutely secret.
  • Analysis: A common way to reassure someone you can be trusted. `放心 (fàngxīn)` means “to set one's mind at ease.”
• Example 9:
  • 客户的个人数据，我们有责任保密。
  • Pinyin: Kèhù de gèrén shùjù, wǒmen yǒu zérèn bǎomì.
  • English: We have a responsibility to keep our clients' personal data confidential.
  • Analysis: This connects 保密 to the modern context of data privacy and responsibility (`责任 zérèn`).
• Example 10:
  • 这份文件的保密级别很高。
  • Pinyin: Zhè fèn wénjiàn de bǎomì jíbié hěn gāo.
  • English: The confidentiality level of this document is very high.
  • Analysis: Here, 保密 is used to modify `级别 (jíbié)`, meaning “level” or “grade,” common in discussing classified information.

The most common mistake for learners is confusing 保密 (bǎomì) with 秘密 (mìmì).

• 保密 (bǎomì) is the ACTION (a verb) of keeping a secret, or an ATTRIBUTE (an adjective) of being confidential.
• 秘密 (mìmì) is the THING (a noun) that is kept secret.

Think of it this way: You 保密 (bǎomì) a 秘密 (mìmì).

• Correct: 这是我们的秘密 (mìmì)。(This is our secret.)
• Correct: 请你为我保密 (bǎomì)。(Please keep it a secret for me.)
• Incorrect: ~~这是我们的保密。~~
• Incorrect: ~~请你为我秘密。~~

Another point is the difference with 隐私 (yǐnsī) - privacy.

• 隐私 (yǐnsī) is the broad concept of one's personal life, space, and information that is not for public knowledge (e.g., your salary, your diary, your family problems).
• 保密 (bǎomì) is the specific action of protecting a piece of information, which could be someone's 隐私, a company's 秘密, or a state 机密.

• 秘密 (mìmì) - The secret itself (noun). The “what” that you need to 保密.
• 机密 (jīmì) - Top secret, classified. A higher, more formal level of secrecy, often used for government or military intelligence. All `机密` information requires `保密`, but not all `秘密` are `机密`.
• 隐私 (yǐnsī) - Privacy. The broader concept of personal information and space that one wants to keep private.
• 泄露 (xièlòu) - To leak, to disclose, to divulge. The direct antonym of 保密.
• 守口如瓶 (shǒu kǒu rú píng) - “To keep one's mouth shut as if it were a bottle.” A popular idiom to describe someone who is excellent at 保密.
• 保密协议 (bǎomì xiéyì) - Non-disclosure agreement (NDA). A legally binding contract to 保密.
• 机密文件 (jīmì wénjiàn) - A classified or top-secret document.
• 别告诉别人 (bié gàosù biérén) - “Don't tell other people.” A more informal, conversational way to ask someone to keep a secret, without the formal weight of 保密.