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密室 (mì shì) — secret chamber, hidden room; escape room (short for 密室逃脱)

Definition

密室 literally means 'secret room' — the modern sense in 密室逃脱 ('escape room') dominates everyday use. A historical or literary context points to a hidden chamber in a mansion or dungeon.

noun
secret chamberhidden roomescape room (short for 密室逃脱)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 密室。
    Zhēn tàn zài tú shū guǎn de mì shì lǐ fā xiàn le yì běn jiù rì jì.
    The detective found an old diary in the library's secret chamber.
  • 密室！
    Zhōu mò wǒ men yì qǐ qù wán mì shì táo tuō ba!
    Let's go play an escape room together this weekend!
  • 密室。
    Zhè běn xiǎo shuō miáo xiě le yí gè gǔ lǎo de mì shì.
    This novel describes an ancient secret chamber.

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.

密mìsecret
室shìroom

密 means secret, 室 means room; together they denote a hidden or secret chamber.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
宓
宓mì密mì
Same sound today

密 pairs 山 (mountain) with 宓 (mì), which gives the pronunciation, to picture something hidden in the mountains, hence secret.

Open 密 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
至
至zhì室shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

室 puts 宀 (roof) over 至, the spot where someone stops, giving the meaning of a house or residence.

Open 室 →
Appears in
Rooms & Spaces

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