About
The character for "mystery" or "riddle" originally took the traditional form 謎, a compound character that structurally combines the semantic component 言 (speech, words) with the phonetic and semantic component 迷 (to bewilder, to be lost). This construction directly reflects its earliest meaning, which was specifically a type of verbal conundrum or enigmatic statement posed to challenge the listener's wit. Over time, the application of the character broadened significantly beyond the realm of spoken or literary puzzles to encompass anything obscure, inexplicable, or difficult to understand, thus giving it the more general sense of a "mystery". While its modern simplified form 谜 retains the same essential components, the conceptual link remains clear: the character embodies the idea of words or situations that cause one to be perplexed or led astray in thought, preserving its core concept of obscured clarity from its linguistic origins to its contemporary usage.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
这个谜语很难猜。
孩子们都喜欢猜谜语。
人生就像一个大谜。
科学家正在解开宇宙之谜。
这个案件至今仍是一个谜团。
他写了一本关于历史谜题的书。
她的微笑背后藏着深深的谜。
真相被层层的谜所掩盖，难以探寻。