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莫名其妙 (mò míng qí miào) — baffling; inexplicable; without rhyme or reason

Definition

An idiom meaning something is baffling and 'makes no sense at all.' It focuses on the speaker's inability to explain or understand, unlike 古怪 or 离奇 which describe the thing itself as strange.

phrase
bafflinginexplicablewithout rhyme or reason

Examples

  • 莫名其妙，。
    Tā tū rán shuō le jù mò míng qí miào de huà, dà jiā dōu lèng zhù le.
    He suddenly said something baffling, and everyone was stunned.
  • 莫名其妙，。
    Zhè jiàn shì lái de mò míng qí miào, wǒ men wán quán méi zhǔn bèi.
    This matter came out of nowhere — we were completely unprepared.
  • ？莫名其妙！
    Nǐ wèi shén me yào zhè yàng zuò? zhēn shì mò míng qí miào!
    Why did you do that? It's totally inexplicable!

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 莫 shows a sun sinking into bushes, meaning dusk.

Open 莫 →

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

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

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A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The modern form 其 comes from an early drawing of a basket, with a stand added underneath.

Open 其 →

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

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Abstract ConceptsIdioms & Set Phrases

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