密谋 (mì móu) — to conspire; to plot (secretly) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

密谋 (mìmóu) means to secretly plot or conspire — a formal, written verb implying a group plans something hidden or illicit, stronger than casual words like 计划.

verb

to conspireto plot (secretly)

Examples

密谋。
Tā men zhèng zài mì móu rú hé huò qǔ zhè fèn wén jiàn.
They are plotting how to obtain this document.
密谋，。
Zhè huǒ rén mì móu le hěn jiǔ, zhōng yú jué dìng xíng dòng.
This group conspired for a long time, and finally decided to act.
密谋。
Lì shǐ shàng yǒu hěn duō zhèng biàn dōu shì mì mì mì móu de.
In history, many coups were secretly plotted.

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

密 means secret and 谋 means plan; together they denote a secret plot.

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.

宓山密

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.

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 謀; 谋 is its simplified writing.

言某謀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

某

某mǒu謀móu

Same sound today

The traditional form 謀 uses 言 to show it relates to speech and 某 to show its sound; the simplified 谋 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

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