妙 miào mysterious
mysterious; subtle; wonderful
How to remember 妙: 女 woman + 少 few = mysterious. The woman at the dinner party says only a few words all evening, and her smile stays mysterious, like the Mona Lisa's.
Component breakdown
妙 = 女 woman + 少 few
- 女 woman
- 少 few
The woman at the dinner party says only a few words all evening, and her smile stays mysterious, like the Mona Lisa's.
How it is used
- 'Clever, wonderful, subtle' - 妙 (miào) marvelous: 这个主意真妙 (zhège zhǔyi zhēn miào) what a brilliant idea; 巧妙 (qiǎomiào) ingenious, 奇妙 (qímiào) wondrous, 微妙 (wēimiào) subtle/delicate.
- 莫名其妙 (mòmíngqímiào) = baffling, inexplicable. 不妙 (búmiào) = things look bad - a fixed understatement for trouble.