莫名

mòmíng

adjective #17,486

Meanings

1 inexplicable
2 indescribable
3 for no apparent reason

Characters

to name; to describe

Literally 'cannot name' — beyond description.

Examples

她感到一种莫名的恐惧。

Tā gǎndào yī zhǒng mòmíng de kǒngjù.

She felt an inexplicable fear.

他莫名其妙地笑了起来。

Tā mòmíngqímiào de xiào le qǐlai.

He started laughing for no apparent reason.

Tips

usage

莫名 is the short form often used as a modifier (莫名的悲伤 = inexplicable sadness). The full idiom is 莫名其妙 (baffling, inexplicable).

Stroke Order

莫 mò

名 míng