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To stay completely silent for an extended period without speaking.
面对质问，他半天不吭声，最后才低声说了句‘不知道’。
Faced with the questioning, he stayed silent for a long time before finally muttering, 'I don't know.'
孩子半天不吭声，我还以为他睡着了。
The child stayed silent for so long that I thought he had fallen asleep.
Often implies reluctance to speak due to hesitation, anger, or contemplation.
Don’t translate this as 'half a day not making a sound.' Instead, use 'remain silent for a long time' to convey the intended meaning naturally in English.
This phrase is used when someone is expected to speak but chooses to stay silent for an unusually long time. It’s not about literal time but about the perceived duration of silence.
半天 (half a day) + 不吭声 (not make a sound). The phrase combines a temporal measure ('half a day') with a negation of speech, emphasizing an unusually prolonged silence.
Commonly used in spoken Chinese to describe someone who is unusually quiet in a situation where speech is expected. Often carries a nuance of awkwardness or tension.