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谜团 (mí tuán) — mystery, riddle, enigma

Definition

谜团 refers to a mystery or enigma as a whole, tangled situation — broader than 谜, which is a single riddle. Heavier and more literary than 神秘 ('mysterious' as an adjective); contrast with 奥秘 for cosmic or scientific unknowns.

noun
mysteryriddleenigma
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 谜团。
    Jǐng chá zhèng zài diào chá zhè ge mí tuán.
    The police are investigating this mystery.
  • 谜团。
    Zhè ge mí tuán kùn rǎo le wǒ hěn jiǔ.
    This mystery has troubled me for a long time.
  • 谜团。
    Kē xué jiā men shì tú jiě kāi yǔ zhòu de mí tuán.
    Scientists are trying to unravel the mysteries of the universe.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

谜míriddle
团tuánlump, tangle

“谜” (riddle) and “团” (lump, tangle) combine as a tangled mass of mysteries.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 謎; 谜 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
迷
迷mí謎mí
Same sound today

The traditional form 謎 is made from 言 (speech) and 迷, which gives the sound and means 'to be lost'; the simplified 谜 is a later abbreviation.

Open 谜 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 團; 团 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéi
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān團tuán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 團 combines 囗 as a meaning part with 專 as a sound part; the story is about 團, not about 团.

Open 团 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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