diff --git a/flax/linen/__init__.py b/flax/linen/__init__.py
index 4b19940e79..b6e8abba48 100644
--- a/flax/linen/__init__.py
+++ b/flax/linen/__init__.py
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@
     Variable as Variable,
     apply as apply,
     compact as compact,
+    nontransparent as nontransparent,
     disable_named_call as disable_named_call,
     enable_named_call as enable_named_call,
     init_with_output as init_with_output,
diff --git a/flax/linen/module.py b/flax/linen/module.py
index 8333ff5e71..c2f5b2bdf9 100644
--- a/flax/linen/module.py
+++ b/flax/linen/module.py
@@ -538,6 +538,80 @@ def nowrap(fun: _CallableT) -> _CallableT:
   return fun
 
 
+def nontransparent(fun: _CallableT) -> _CallableT:
+  """Creates compact submodules from a method.
+
+  This is a decorator that allows you to define compact submodules from a
+  method. It's intention is to make it easier to port code Haiku code to Flax
+  by providing the same functionality.
+
+  Example::
+
+    >>> import flax.linen as nn
+    >>> import jax
+    >>> import jax.numpy as jnp
+    >>> from flax.core import pretty_repr
+    ...
+    >>> class Foo(nn.Module):
+    ...   @nn.nontransparent
+    ...   def up(self, x):
+    ...     return nn.Dense(3)(x)
+    ...
+    ...   @nn.nontransparent
+    ...   def down(self, x):
+    ...     return nn.Dense(3)(x)
+    ...
+    ...   @nn.compact
+    ...   def __call__(self, x):
+    ...     return self.up(x) + self.down(x) + nn.Dense(3)(x)
+    ...
+    >>> module = Foo()
+    >>> variables = module.init(jax.random.PRNGKey(0), jnp.ones([1, 3]))
+    >>> print(pretty_repr(variables['params']))
+    {
+        Dense_0: {
+            bias: (3,),
+            kernel: (3, 3),
+        },
+        down: {
+            Dense_0: {
+                bias: (3,),
+                kernel: (3, 3),
+            },
+        },
+        up: {
+            Dense_0: {
+                bias: (3,),
+                kernel: (3, 3),
+            },
+        },
+    }
+
+  Args:
+    fun: The Module method to mark as nontransparent.
+
+  Returns:
+    The given function ``fun`` marked as nontransparent.
+  """
+
+  @functools.wraps(fun)
+  def nontransparent_wrapper(self: nn.Module, *args, **kwargs):
+    name = fun.__name__
+    if not hasattr(self, f'{name}_nontransparent'):
+      raise ValueError(
+        f'Cannot call nontransparent method {name!r} on a Module that has not been '
+        f'setup. This is likely because you are calling {name!r} '
+        'from outside of init or apply.'
+      )
+    module = getattr(self, f'{name}_nontransparent')
+    return module(*args, **kwargs)
+
+  nontransparent_wrapper.nontransparent = True  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
+  nontransparent_wrapper.inner_fun = fun  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
+  nontransparent_wrapper.nowrap = True  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
+  return nontransparent_wrapper  # type: ignore[return-value]
+
+
 def _get_local_method_names(
   cls: Any, exclude: Iterable[str] = ()
 ) -> Tuple[str, ...]:
@@ -955,6 +1029,7 @@ def __init_subclass__(cls, kw_only: bool = False, **kwargs: Any) -> None:
     # We wrap user-defined methods including setup and __call__ to enforce
     # a number of different checks and to provide clear error messages.
     cls._verify_single_or_no_compact()
+    cls._find_nontransparent_methods()
     cls._wrap_module_attributes()
     # Set empty class defaults.
     cls._state = _uninitialized_module_internal_state  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
@@ -1046,6 +1121,17 @@ def _verify_single_or_no_compact(cls):
     if n_compact_fns > 1:
       raise errors.MultipleMethodsCompactError()
 
+  @classmethod
+  def _find_nontransparent_methods(cls):
+    """Finds all nontransparent methods in the class."""
+    methods = [m[0] for m in inspect.getmembers(cls, predicate=callable)]
+    nontransparent_fns = tuple(
+      method_name
+      for method_name in methods
+      if hasattr(getattr(cls, method_name), 'nontransparent')
+    )
+    cls._nontransparent_methods = nontransparent_fns
+
   @classmethod
   def _wrap_module_attributes(cls):
     """Wraps user-defined non-inherited methods and descriptors with state
@@ -1347,6 +1433,7 @@ def _register_submodules(self, name, val):
 
     def adopt_attr_modules(cache, queue, suffix, subvalue):
       if isinstance(subvalue, Module):
+        current_name = subvalue.name
         adopted_name = None
         if subvalue.parent is None:
           # Preserve sharing-by-reference relationships during adoption
@@ -1366,7 +1453,11 @@ def adopt_attr_modules(cache, queue, suffix, subvalue):
         if subvalue.name is None:
           object.__setattr__(subvalue, 'parent', self)
           if adopted_name is None:
-            adopted_name = f'{name}{suffix}'
+            adopted_name = (
+              f'{name}{suffix}'
+              if not isinstance(subvalue, NonTransparent)
+              else current_name
+            )
           object.__setattr__(subvalue, 'name', adopted_name)
           queue.append(subvalue)
       return subvalue
@@ -1397,6 +1488,15 @@ def _try_setup(self, shallow: bool = False) -> None:
             self._register_submodules(field.name, getattr(self, field.name))
         if not shallow:
           self.setup()
+          # create NonTransparent Modules
+          for name in self._nontransparent_methods:
+            inner_fun = getattr(type(self), name).inner_fun
+            setattr(
+              self,
+              f'{name}_nontransparent',
+              NonTransparent(inner_fun, lambda: self, name=name),
+            )
+
         # We run static checks abstractly once for setup before any transforms
         # to detect name collisions and other python errors.
         elif self._state.setup_called == SetupState.NEW:
@@ -2835,3 +2935,12 @@ def init_wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
     return init_fn(*args, **kwargs)[1]
 
   return init_wrapper
+
+
+class NonTransparent(Module):
+  fn: Callable
+  module_fn: Callable[[], Module]
+
+  @compact
+  def __call__(self, *args, **kwargs) -> Any:
+    return self.fn(self.module_fn(), *args, **kwargs)
diff --git a/tests/linen/linen_module_test.py b/tests/linen/linen_module_test.py
index 8cd792859b..8d1856f82c 100644
--- a/tests/linen/linen_module_test.py
+++ b/tests/linen/linen_module_test.py
@@ -2487,6 +2487,33 @@ def my_property(self):
     self.assertEqual(obj_loaded.b, 'ok')
     self.assertEqual(obj_loaded.my_property, 'okok')
 
+  def test_nontransparent(self):
+    class Foo(nn.Module):
+      @nn.nontransparent
+      def up(self, x):
+        return nn.Dense(3)(x)
+
+      @nn.nontransparent
+      def down(self, x):
+        return nn.Dense(3)(x)
+
+      @nn.compact
+      def __call__(self, x):
+        return self.up(x) + self.down(x) + nn.Dense(3)(x)
+
+    m = Foo()
+
+    self.assertEqual(set(m._nontransparent_methods), {'up', 'down'})
+
+    variables = m.init(random.PRNGKey(0), jnp.zeros((1, 3)))
+    params = variables['params']
+
+    self.assertIn('Dense_0', params)
+    self.assertIn('down', params)
+    self.assertIn('up', params)
+    self.assertIn('Dense_0', params['down'])
+    self.assertIn('Dense_0', params['up'])
+
 
 class LeakTests(absltest.TestCase):
   def test_tracer_leaks(self):