Chinese word

陌生

Pronunciation

Pinyinmò shēng

Meaning

  • adjectiveunfamiliar

Example

我对新同事还有点陌生。wǒ duì xīn tóng shì hái yóu diǎn mò shēng

I am still somewhat unfamiliar with my new colleague.

Illustration for 陌生 (unfamiliar)

More examples

回到老家时，很多地方让我感到陌生。huí dào lǎo jiā shí hěn duō dì fāng ràng wǒ gǎn dào mò shēng

When I returned to my hometown, many places felt unfamiliar to me.

Core concept

A gap in contact and knowledge leaves someone or something outside the speaker's familiar world.

Common phrases

  • 对...有点陌生duì yóu diǎn mò shēng

    be a little unfamiliar with ___

  • 陌生的面孔mò shēng de miàn kǒng

    unfamiliar faces

Similar words

不熟悉bù shú xī: Lacking enough experience or information to know a subject well.
生疏shēng shū: Feeling rusty or awkward after not practicing a skill or activity for a long time.

Definition in Chinese

对人或事物缺乏接触和了解，感到不习惯或不熟悉。duì rén huò shì wù quē fá jiē chù hé le jiě gǎn dào bù xí guàn huò bù shú xī

Word origin

陌生 (mòshēng, "unfamiliar") is formed from 陌 (mò, "a path between fields") and 生 (shēng, "raw or unacquainted"), linking an unfamiliar path with a person or thing not yet known.

Usage tips

  • English speakers often hear "strange" as a judgment that something is odd, but this word usually points to limited familiarity rather than an unusual nature.

Other meanings

  • unknownadjective

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word