秘 mì secret
secret; mysterious; abstruse
How to remember 秘: 禾 grain + 必 must = secret. Grandma hides a note in the grain jar and says it must stay there, because her cake recipe is secret.
Component breakdown
秘 = 禾 grain + 必 must
- 禾 grain
- 必 must
- 心 heart
- ㇒ falling stroke
Grandma hides a note in the grain jar and says it must stay there, because her cake recipe is secret.
How it is used
- Bound morpheme for "secret, mysterious" - the free noun "a secret" is 秘密 (mìmì), not bare 秘.
- 神秘 (shénmì) "mysterious" describes an atmosphere or phenomenon, while 秘密 as an adjective means "secret, clandestine" (秘密行动 "a covert operation").
- 秘书 (mìshū) "secretary" is a semantic drift worth flagging - nothing to do with keeping secrets in the modern job-title sense.
- 秘诀 (mìjué) "secret know-how/trick" is common in advice contexts: 成功的秘诀 "the secret to success".