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Glite Dictionary
🚧 An information barrier 🧱 A huge wall
Chinese Wall

Chinese Wall

1 8.9
A rule to keep people in different teams from sharing secret information to avoid conflicts of interest
  • noun
  • /ˈtʃaɪniːz wɔːl/
  • Jargon
translation icon : muralla china
  • In business, a Chinese wall is often established to prevent conflicts of interest by keeping different departments from sharing sensitive information.

Examples

  • So, they created what are called "Chinese walls" that supposedly keep the two sides separate and are not allowed to share secrets.

    Blog text (28)

  • In business, a Chinese wall or firewall is an information barrier implemented within a firm to separate and isolate persons who make investment decisions from persons who are privy to undisclosed material information that may influence those decisions.

    Blog text (28)

  • The company implemented a Chinese wall to ensure that the marketing team could not access the financial department's private data.

  • Regulations require firms to have a Chinese wall to protect confidential client information from being disclosed within the organization.

Synonyms

wall
vsChinese Wall
503 5.1

A situation that stops progress or makes it hard to continue

is a targeted information barrier created to prevent disclosure and conflicts
curtain
vsChinese Wall
112 6.1

A layer that blocks sight or hides information

is an internal rule blocking information to prevent conflicts of interest
iron curtain
vsChinese Wall
  • Literature
2 6.8

A strong political barrier that separated Eastern and Western Europe during the Cold War

is a workplace rule to stop information sharing and avoid conflicts of interest
bamboo curtain
vsChinese Wall
  • Archaic
8.6

A barrier that kept China separate from other countries, stopping travel, news, and contact

is an internal confidentiality barrier focused on preventing information exchange within organizations

How Effective

Chinese Wall
  • Jargon
1 8.9
barrier
309 3.7
screen
334 2.3
partition
20 4.3

Surface Forms

Chinese Wall singular
Chinese Walls plural

Morphology

Chinese + wall

The word 'wall' clearly denotes a barrier, so learners can infer that the expression refers to some kind of separation or blockage; however, the modifier 'Chinese' functions metaphorically (alluding to the Great Wall) to signal an institutional or imaginary information barrier. That cultural and figurative link is not fully predictable for a B1 learner who only knows the literal words, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Chinese Wall uses the picture of a long, strong wall that stops people from crossing; businesses borrow this image for an invisible rule 'to stop' information moving between teams, so the phrase means an internal barrier that keeps information separate.