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秘

mì
adjective #6,970

Meanings

  1. 1 secret
  2. 2 mysterious

Examples

HSK 5
这是我们之间的秘密。
Zhè shì wǒmen zhījiān de mìmì.
This is a top secret between us.
HSK 5
夜里的森林显得格外神秘。
Yèlǐ de sēnlín xiǎnde géwài shénmì.
The forest at night feels especially mysterious.
HSK 7-9
她在律师事务所当秘书。
Tā zài lǜshī shìwùsuǒ dāng mìshū.
She works as a secretary at a law firm.

Tips

memory
禾 (grain) + 必 (must) - grain that must be kept hidden
mistakes
One name breaks the rule. In 秘鲁, the country Peru, the character is read bì, not mì, and that is the only place the reading turns up in everyday Chinese. Everywhere else, as in 秘密 and 秘书, it is 秘.

Components

radical
禾 hé
grain stalk; cereal plant
Grain radical on the left - pictograph of a ripe rice stalk bending from the weight of its head. 秘 originally referred to a sacred grain offered in temple ritual, where secrecy and reverence overlapped. From 'sacred grain' came the modern 'secret, mysterious'. Same radical groups 秋 autumn, 种 seed, 稳 stable.
phonetic
必 bì
must; certainly
Right side 必 supplies the sound: bì → mì with regular b/m alternation in older Chinese. 必 also appears as phonetic in 泌 (secrete), 蜜 (honey), 谧 (quiet) - a tight phonetic family. Adds faint semantic weight too: 必 means 'must, certain', and a 秘密 (secret) is something that absolutely must not leak.

Stroke Order

秘 mì