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奥妙 (ào miào) — profound and subtle; mysterious

Definition

奥妙 (àomiào) is an adjective meaning 'profound and mysterious' — used for things whose depth or wonder is not immediately obvious, like nature, the universe, or a subtle work of art.

adjective
profound and subtlemysterious

Examples

  • 奥妙。
    Dà zì rán de ào miào wú qióng wú jìn.
    The mysteries of nature are endless.
  • 奥妙。
    Zhè piān lùn wén jiē shì le yǔ zhòu de ào miào.
    This paper reveals the mysteries of the universe.
  • 奥妙。
    Tā jiǎng le yí gè fēi cháng ào miào de gù shi.
    He told a very profound and subtle story.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

奥àodeep
妙miàosubtle

奥 “deep” and 妙 “subtle” combine to mean profound subtlety.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 奥 →

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
Abstract Concepts

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