<p>You are partly correct!<br>
躲 usually means hide (people), and 藏 means hide (object).<br>
However, 躲 is basically like the active form of hide, and 藏 is the passive form of hide.
For example, 小白兔躲在草叢裏 means the bunny hid itself in the bush, while 小男孩把小白兔藏在草叢裏 means the bunny was hidden by the boy.<br>
Hope this can help you!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-14T02:35:55.683Z
2019-04-14T02:35:55.683Z
昨晚忘記呼吸
<p><strong>see online dictionaries</strong> e.g. bkrs, <strong>躲</strong> (<strong>隐藏</strong>） hide (<strong>oneself</strong>):
躲在树林中 hide among the trees
兔子躲在高高的草丛中。 The rabbit hid in the high grass.
（避让） avoid; dodge:
躲雨 take shelter from the rain
警察向他开枪时，他躲开了。 He dodged when the police fired at him.
你怎么老躲着他 ? Why do you keep avoiding him?</p>

<p><strong>藏</strong> 1) hide; conceal
你把钱包藏 哪儿了？ Where did you hide the purse?
2) store; lay by
（<strong>躲藏; 隐藏</strong>） hide; conceal:
狐狸尾巴是藏不住的。 A fox cannot hide its tail.
他藏在树后。 He concealed himself behind the trees.
（收存; 储藏） store; lay by:
藏粮于民 store grain among the people
你把你的钱藏在什么地方? Where do you keep your money?
所有事实都藏在他的记忆里。 All the facts were stored in his memory.</p>

<p>躲藏to conceal oneself
to go into hiding
to take cover</p>

<p>隐藏 hide; conceal; remain under cover; go into hiding;</p>

<p>thus 藏 can mean "hide (store away)for a long time", much more at bkrs</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-14T03:22:36.877Z
2019-04-14T03:28:24.850Z
2019-04-14T03:28:24.850Z
user6065
<blockquote>
  <p>躲 means "to evade" as in 躲避 (dodge/ evade), 躲開 (dodge)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>躲在家中不見人 means "stay home to evade people" The main point is not to hide, people know where you are, the main point is 'stay home to evade (people)' </p>

<p>躲 is an intransitive verb, meaning it doesn't take object, you cannot say 我把他躲在家中; you can only say 他躲在家中</p>

<p>Why would "躲在家中不見人" can be translated as "hide at home and not seeing anyone" ? Because 躲 can be interpreted as the shortened form of 躲藏(hide and evade). You can replace 躲 with 藏 and write "藏在家中不見人"  and the meaning would not change. </p>

<p>It is the confusing part about 躲. you can use it as a single character verb for "to evade";  you can also use it as a shortened form of the compound word "躲藏"  for "to hide"</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>藏 means "to hide" </p>
</blockquote>

<p>It can be used with or without object</p>

<p>Example:</p>

<p>警察來了他就藏 (intransitive)</p>

<p>他藏在家中 (intransitive)</p>

<p>我藏他在家中 (transitive)</p>

<p>他藏錢在家中 (transitive)</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>So based on my research so far, 躲 means hide (people) while 藏 means hide (objects).</em> </p>
</blockquote>

<p>You got it wrong, 躲 is an intransitive verb, meaning "to evade". Only human and animal can do that. </p>

<p>藏 means "to hide" . As a transitive verb, 藏 can be applied to people or object. e.g. "to hide people" , "to hide object" ; as an intransitive verb,  only human and animal can do that. e.g. "people hide". "animals hide"</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-14T06:22:07.283Z
2019-04-14T06:47:05.197Z
2019-04-14T06:47:05.197Z
Tang Ho
<ol>
<li><p>躲 means to hide somewhere (and constantly change locations lest to be found) </p></li>
<li><p>藏 means to hide somewhere (and stay still).</p></li>
</ol>

<p>In short, 躲 is in active-mode, while 藏 is in passive-mode. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-14T03:26:40.520Z
2019-04-14T03:26:40.520Z
John Z. Li
<p>Yes, 躲 is more towards "evading" which on its own is a bit too general and rather ambiguous. That is why you need to add 避 and 開 to zoom in on <em>how</em> or <em>why</em> you are evading. </p>

<p>If, however, you wish to specifically say "to bodily <em>dodge</em>" an incoming object, for example an arrow or a slap, you say 躲闪, the 闪 gives the idea of some instantaneous bodily movement to dodge away from something. </p>

<p>As for 藏, it's more towards <em>hiding</em>, <em>concealing</em> or <em>hidden</em> either objects or persons; even figuratively, thus the famous saying and movie 卧虎藏龙.</p>

<p>Of course you could successively go from 躲 to 藏, like:-</p>

<p>杨将军躲避了敌军以后山藏身处三年.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-17T07:11:01.697Z
2020-02-17T12:13:03.140Z
2020-02-17T12:13:03.140Z
Wayne Cheah
<p>躲 is an act of evading from being caught or hurt, similar to 避. One of the way to evade is hiding. People and animals can evade from hazard themselves while a vase not.</p>

<p>藏 is the boarder sense of hiding, for both person and object.</p>

<p>There is no usage constraint on long time or short time for 躲 and 藏.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-18T05:42:32.440Z
2019-04-18T05:42:32.440Z
OmniBus
<p>I just want to confirm if my research on the usage is correct or not for 躲 and 藏.</p>

<p>Based on my research so far, 躲 means hide (people) while 藏 means hide (objects).  I'm unsure about the timing of the word because I heard that 躲 also means hide for a long time while 藏 can also mean hide for a short while.</p>

<p>Is that true? </p>

<meaning><usage><word>
Does 躲 mean hide for a long time while 藏 can also mean hide for a short while?
# Does 躲 mean hide for a long time while 藏 can also mean hide for a short while?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-04-14)

I just want to confirm if my research on the usage is correct or not for 躲 and 藏.

Based on my research so far, 躲 means hide (people) while 藏 means hide (objects). I'm unsure about the timing of the word because I heard that 躲 also means hide for a long time while 藏 can also mean hide for a short while.

Is that true?

**Tags:** meaning, usage, word


---

## 6 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-04-14. Score: 3

You are partly correct!  
躲 usually means hide (people), and 藏 means hide (object).  
However, 躲 is basically like the active form of hide, and 藏 is the passive form of hide.
For example, 小白兔躲在草叢裏 means the bunny hid itself in the bush, while 小男孩把小白兔藏在草叢裏 means the bunny was hidden by the boy.  
Hope this can help you!


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-04-14. Score: 2

**see online dictionaries** e.g. bkrs, **躲** (**隐藏**） hide (**oneself**):
躲在树林中 hide among the trees
兔子躲在高高的草丛中。 The rabbit hid in the high grass.
（避让） avoid; dodge:
躲雨 take shelter from the rain
警察向他开枪时，他躲开了。 He dodged when the police fired at him.
你怎么老躲着他 ? Why do you keep avoiding him?

**藏** 1) hide; conceal
你把钱包藏 哪儿了？ Where did you hide the purse?
2) store; lay by
（**躲藏; 隐藏**） hide; conceal:
狐狸尾巴是藏不住的。 A fox cannot hide its tail.
他藏在树后。 He concealed himself behind the trees.
（收存; 储藏） store; lay by:
藏粮于民 store grain among the people
你把你的钱藏在什么地方? Where do you keep your money?
所有事实都藏在他的记忆里。 All the facts were stored in his memory.

躲藏to conceal oneself
to go into hiding
to take cover

隐藏 hide; conceal; remain under cover; go into hiding;

thus 藏 can mean "hide (store away)for a long time", much more at bkrs


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-04-14. Score: 2

> 躲 means "to evade" as in 躲避 (dodge/ evade), 躲開 (dodge)

躲在家中不見人 means "stay home to evade people" The main point is not to hide, people know where you are, the main point is 'stay home to evade (people)'

躲 is an intransitive verb, meaning it doesn't take object, you cannot say 我把他躲在家中; you can only say 他躲在家中

Why would "躲在家中不見人" can be translated as "hide at home and not seeing anyone" ? Because 躲 can be interpreted as the shortened form of 躲藏(hide and evade). You can replace 躲 with 藏 and write "藏在家中不見人" and the meaning would not change.

It is the confusing part about 躲. you can use it as a single character verb for "to evade"; you can also use it as a shortened form of the compound word "躲藏" for "to hide"

> 藏 means "to hide"

It can be used with or without object

Example:

警察來了他就藏 (intransitive)

他藏在家中 (intransitive)

我藏他在家中 (transitive)

他藏錢在家中 (transitive)

> *So based on my research so far, 躲 means hide (people) while 藏 means hide (objects).*

You got it wrong, 躲 is an intransitive verb, meaning "to evade". Only human and animal can do that.

藏 means "to hide" . As a transitive verb, 藏 can be applied to people or object. e.g. "to hide people" , "to hide object" ; as an intransitive verb, only human and animal can do that. e.g. "people hide". "animals hide"


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2019-04-14. Score: 1

1. 躲 means to hide somewhere (and constantly change locations lest to be found)
2. 藏 means to hide somewhere (and stay still).

In short, 躲 is in active-mode, while 藏 is in passive-mode.


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2020-02-17. Score: 1

Yes, 躲 is more towards "evading" which on its own is a bit too general and rather ambiguous. That is why you need to add 避 and 開 to zoom in on *how* or *why* you are evading.

If, however, you wish to specifically say "to bodily *dodge*" an incoming object, for example an arrow or a slap, you say 躲闪, the 闪 gives the idea of some instantaneous bodily movement to dodge away from something.

As for 藏, it's more towards *hiding*, *concealing* or *hidden* either objects or persons; even figuratively, thus the famous saying and movie 卧虎藏龙.

Of course you could successively go from 躲 to 藏, like:-

杨将军躲避了敌军以后山藏身处三年.


---

### Answer by username_6 on 2019-04-18. Score: 0

躲 is an act of evading from being caught or hurt, similar to 避. One of the way to evade is hiding. People and animals can evade from hazard themselves while a vase not.

藏 is the boarder sense of hiding, for both person and object.

There is no usage constraint on long time or short time for 躲 and 藏.


---

