蹊跷 qīqiao odd
odd; queer; strange; fishy
How to remember 蹊跷: 蹊 trail + 跷 to stand on tiptoe = odd.
Characters
How it is used
- Fishy / oddly suspicious - something that doesn't add up - 这件事有点蹊跷 (zhè jiàn shì yǒudiǎn qīqiao) there's something fishy about this.
- Describes a situation that seems off and hints at a hidden reason, not just plain strangeness.
- Note the reading qīqiao (light on 跷). More suggestive of concealment than 奇怪 (qíguài, generally strange), which carries no whiff of a cover-up.