Chinese word

莫名其妙

Pronunciation

Pinyinmò míng qí miào

Meaning

  • idiompuzzling

Example

他突然笑了，我觉得莫名其妙。tā tū rán xiào le wǒ jué de mò míng qí miào

He suddenly laughed, and I found it puzzling.

Illustration for 莫名其妙 (puzzling)

More examples

他听完解释后还一脸莫名其妙。tā tīng wán jiě shì hòu hái yì liǎn mò míng qí miào

He still had a puzzled look after hearing the explanation.

Core concept

An event or action gives no clear reason, leaving the observer baffled and sometimes mildly annoyed.

Common phrases

  • 显得莫名其妙xiǎn de mò míng qí miào

    seem puzzling

  • 一脸莫名其妙yì liǎn mò míng qí miào

    have a puzzled look

  • 变得莫名其妙biàn de mò míng qí miào

    become inexplicable

Similar words

摸不着头脑mō bù zháo tóu nǎo: Unable to make sense of how a situation fits together.
不知所措bù zhī suǒ cuò: Feeling confused and helpless about how to respond.
百思不得其解bǎi sī bù dé qí jiě: Unable to solve a question even after thinking about it many times.

Definition in Chinese

用来表示对某事无法理解或解释，既可表示困惑，也可带有一丝不满或惊讶。yòng lái biǎo shì duì mǒu shì wú fǎ lí jiě huò jiě shì jì kě biǎo shì kùn huò yě kě dài yǒu yì sī bù mǎn huò jīng yà

Word origin

莫名其妙 (mòmíngqímiào, "unable to name its mystery") literally presents a marvelous or strange quality that cannot be named, which develops into the sense of something baffling.

Usage tips

  • In everyday speech, it can describe a person's behavior as well as a situation, and the speaker's tone may range from surprised confusion to mild criticism.

Other meanings

  • mysteriousidiom

Opposites

Word lists with this word