Chinese word

神秘

Pronunciation

Pinyinshén mì

Meaning

  • adjectivemysterious

Example

她看起来很神秘。tā kàn qǐ lái hěn shén mì

She looks very mysterious.

Illustration for 神秘 (mysterious)

More examples

古老的城堡有一种神秘的气氛。gú lǎo de chéng bǎo yǒu yì zhǒng shén mì de qì fēn

The ancient castle has an air of mystery.

Core concept

A quality that keeps its cause or contents out of clear view, so it resists ordinary explanation.

Common phrases

  • 神秘的故事shén mì de gù shì

    mysterious story

  • 神秘事件shén mì shì jiàn

    unexplained incident

  • 神秘的力量shén mì de lì liàng

    mysterious power

Similar words

秘密mì mì: Kept from public knowledge or from other people.
神奇shén qí: So unusual that it seems beyond ordinary understanding and inspires wonder.
奇怪qí guài: Unusual in a way that seems strange or not normal.

Definition in Chinese

指难以用常理解释、包含未知或隐秘成分的事物或特征。zhǐ nán yǐ yòng cháng lǐ jiě shì bāo hán wèi zhī huò yǐn mì chéng fèn de shì wù huò tè zhēng

Word origin

神 (shén, "spirit") + 秘 (mì, "hidden") presents what is unseen as something concealed, creating a word for an unexplained or hard-to-understand quality.

Usage tips

  • When it describes a person, the word usually reports an impression created by limited information or unusual behavior, not a judgment that the person is dishonest.

Other meanings

  • mysterynoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 神秘感shén mì gǎnair of mysterynoun
  • 神秘化shén mì huàmystifyverb

Word lists with this word