微妙 (wēi miào) — subtle | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

微妙 describes situations, feelings, or relationships that are delicate and hard to pin down — different from 细微, which points to small, measurable details.

adjective

subtle

Examples

微妙，。
Zhè dào cài de tiáo wèi hěn wēi miào, yì bān rén cháng bù chū lái.
The seasoning of this dish is very subtle; ordinary people can't taste it.
微妙。
Liǎng guó zhī jiān de wēi miào guān xì xū yào xiǎo xīn chǔ lǐ.
The subtle relationship between the two countries requires careful handling.
微妙，。
Tā liǎn shàng lüè guò yì sī wēi miào de xiào yì, hěn kuài yòu xiāo shī le.
A subtle smile flickered across her face and then quickly disappeared.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

微wēisubtle

妙miàoclever

微 means subtle or small, while 妙 means clever or wonderful; together they suggest something finely subtle.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

𡵂攵微

𡵂美měi
攵攴pūhand with tool

The old form showed 𡵂 (a variant of 美, a person with long hair) and 攵 (a hand with a tool) splitting or combing hairs, hence minute; 微 later added 彳 to emphasize action.

Open 微 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

女少妙

Meaning part形符xíngfú

女女nǚwoman

Sound part声符shēngfú

少

少shǎo妙miào

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

妙 combines 女, a woman, with 少, which gives the sound.

Open 妙 →

Appears in