HSK · Level 111
45 words
Chinese word
微妙
Pronunciation
Pinyinwēi miào
Meaning
- adjectivequestionable
Example
你的回答听起来有点微妙。nǐ de huí dá tīng qǐ lái yóu diǎn wēi miào
Your answer sounds a little questionable.
More examples
两国关系现在处于微妙的平衡。liǎng guó guān xì xiàn zài chǔ yú wēi miào de píng héng
Relations between the two countries are now in a delicate balance.
Core concept
It points to a barely sensed difference whose meaning remains hard to pin down and may feel slightly off.
Common phrases
微妙的平衡wēi miào de píng héng
delicate balance
微妙的变化wēi miào de biàn huà
subtle change
微妙的表情wēi miào de biǎo qíng
subtle expression
Similar words
含糊hán hú: Vague in expression, so the meaning is not easy to grasp.
隐晦yǐn huì: Obscure because the meaning is conveyed through indirect wording.
含蓄hán xù: Tactfully indirect, keeping deeper feelings or meanings beneath the surface.
Definition in Chinese
表示事物的细节或感觉难以察觉或难以准确表达，有时含有不太确定或略带否定的意味biǎo shì shì wù de xì jié huò gǎn jué nán yǐ chá jué huò nán yǐ zhǔn què biǎo dá yǒu shí hán yǒu bú tài què dìng huò lüè dài fǒu dìng de yì wèi
Word origin
微 (wēi, "slight") narrows attention to something faint, while 妙 (miào, "fine or unusual") adds a quality that resists simple judgment, yielding a hard-to-explain nuance.
Usage tips
- In conversation, this adjective often expresses reservations indirectly, so a description that sounds positive in English may carry mild doubt in Chinese.
Other meanings
- subtleadjective
- delicateadjective
Opposites
- 明显míng xiǎnobviousadjective
- 直白zhí báidirectadjective
Related words
- 微妙地wēi miào dìsubtlyadverb