HSK 5 · Adjectives

神秘 shénmì “mysterious” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 神秘 means

  1. mysterious
  2. mystery

How to say 神秘

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale神shén2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale秘mì4th tone, falling

神秘 in a sentence

  1. 自然充满了神秘。

    Zìrán chōngmǎn le shénmì.

    Nature is full of mysteries.

    Sentence #6047447 from Tatoeba

  2. 我一直都比较喜欢神秘一点的人物。

    Wǒ yìzhí dōu bǐjiào xǐhuan shénmì yìdiǎn de rénwù.

    I’ve always preferred slightly mysterious characters.

    Sentence #31 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  3. 这个地方的气氛很神秘。

    Zhè ge dìfang de qìfēn hěn shénmì.

    This place has a mysterious atmosphere.

    Sentence #343409 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 神秘 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 神 (shén) with each of its parts in a different colour
神shéngod; deity
  • 礻sign form of 示 · shìMeaning part
  • 申to report · shēnSound part

礻 hints at the meaning (sign); 申 (shēn) hints at the sound. Compare it with shén.

The character 秘 (mì) with each of its parts in a different colour
秘mìsecret
  • 禾grain · héMeaning part
  • 必surely · bìSound part

禾 hints at the meaning (grain); 必 (bì) hints at the sound. Compare it with mì.

How to write 神秘

神 9 strokes · 秘 10 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

神秘 (shénmì) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 神秘 (shénmì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 神秘

Words with 神

神话shénhuà · legend精神jīngshén · spirit神经shénjīng · nerve眼神yǎnshén · look in one’s eyes神态shéntài · expression出神chūshén · to be lost in thought留神liúshén · to be careful神气shénqì · spirited神奇shénqí · magical神圣shénshèng · sacred

Words with 秘

秘密mìmì · secret秘书mìshū · secretary奥秘àomì · mystery

More words: Adjectives

弱ruò · weak傻shǎ · foolish善良shànliáng · good and honest深刻shēnkè · profound生动shēngdòng · vivid时髦shímáo · in vogue实用shíyòng · practical舒适shūshì · cosy

FAQs

神秘 (shénmì) means “mysterious” or “mystery”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it shénmì: shén with a 2nd tone, then mì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 神秘 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type shenmi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 神秘 from the suggestions. Typing shenmi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
神秘 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.