adjective #6,970

Meanings

  1. 1 secret
  2. 2 mysterious

Examples

HSK 4
Zhè shì wǒmen zhījiān de mìmì.
This is a top secret between us.
HSK 4
Yèlǐ de sēnlín xiǎnde géwài shénmì.
The forest at night feels especially mysterious.
HSK 7-9
Tā zài lǜshī shìwùsuǒ dāng mìshū.
She works as a secretary at a law firm.

Tips

memory
(grain) + (must) - grain that must be kept hidden

Components

radical
grain stalk; cereal plant
Grain radical on the left - pictograph of a ripe rice stalk bending from the weight of its head. 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 autumn, seed, stable.
phonetic
must; certainly
Right side supplies the sound: bì → mì with regular b/m alternation in older Chinese. also appears as phonetic in (secrete), (honey), (quiet) - a tight phonetic family. Adds faint semantic weight too: means 'must, certain', and a 秘密 (secret) is something that absolutely must not leak.

Stroke Order