阴文

yīnwén

阴文 — yīnwén

1. characters carved in intaglio (incised) on a seal or other object; sunken/negative engraving (opposed to 阳文, relief carving).

   这方印章是阴文，字迹凹下，印出来呈白字。 zhèfāng yìnzhāng shì yīnwén zìjì āoxià yìnchūlái chéng báizì — This seal is intaglio; the characters are recessed and print as white (negative) characters.

2. secret or clandestine writing; hidden inscription (literary/figurative use).

   他在日记里用阴文记录了一些不想公开的事。 tā zài rìjì lǐ yòng yīnwén jìlù le yīxiē bùxiǎng gōngkāi de shì — He wrote some things he didn't want public in his diary using secret writing.