不露声色

bù lù shēng sè

to give nothing away; to keep a straight face

Character by character

不bù
not

露lù
show

声shēng
voice

色sè
face

听到对方开出的价格，他不露声色，只是慢慢地喝了一口茶。

When he heard the price the other side was asking, he gave nothing away and just slowly sipped his tea.

Tone: neutral.

声色 is the voice and the face. Usually used adverbially, 不露声色地 + verb; praise for calm in a negotiator, menace in a villain. 露 is lù here, as in 暴露.

Learn this in Lesson 194 · HSK 7–9: 二十八年后破案 (Solved after twenty-eight years)

A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.