莫名其妙

Chinese

		to be impossible to describe	his; her; its his; her; its; theirs; that; such; it (refers to sth preceding it)	clever; wonderful
trad. (莫名其妙)		莫名	其	妙
simp. #(莫名其妙)		莫名	其	妙
alternative forms		莫明其妙
Literally: “to be impossible to describe what the profundity is”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): mòmíngqímiào

  (Zhuyin): ㄇㄛˋ ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄑㄧˊ ㄇㄧㄠˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): mok⁶ ming⁴ kei⁴ miu⁶

• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): bo̍k-bêng-kî-biāu / bo̍k-bêng-kî-miāu

  (Teochew, Peng'im): mog⁸ mêng⁵ ki⁵ miou⁶

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁸moq-min ⁶ji-miau

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: mòmíngqímiào
    • Zhuyin: ㄇㄛˋ ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄑㄧˊ ㄇㄧㄠˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: mòmíngcímiào
    • Wade–Giles: mo⁴-ming²-chʻi²-miao⁴
    • Yale: mwò-míng-chí-myàu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: mohmingchyimiaw
    • Palladius: моминцимяо (momincimjao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mu̯ɔ⁵¹ miŋ³⁵ t͡ɕʰi³⁵ mi̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹/
    • Homophones:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 莫名其妙 莫明其妙

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: mok⁶ ming⁴ kei⁴ miu⁶
    • Yale: mohk mìhng kèih miuh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: mok⁹ ming⁴ kei⁴ miu⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: mog⁶ ming⁴ kéi⁴ miu⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mɔːk̚² mɪŋ²¹ kʰei̯²¹ miːu̯²²/
    • Homophones:

      edit edit 莫名其妙 莫明其妙

• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, variant in Taiwan, Quanzhou, Jinjiang)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bo̍k-bêng-kî-biāu
    • Tâi-lô: bo̍k-bîng-kî-biāu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: bogbengki'biau
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /bɔk̚²⁴⁻² biɪŋ²⁴ ki²⁴⁻²² biau⁴¹/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /bɔk̚⁴⁻³² biɪŋ²³ ki²³⁻³³ biau³³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /bɔk̚⁴⁻³² biɪŋ²⁴ ki²⁴⁻¹¹ biau³³/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /bɔk̚⁴⁻³² biɪŋ²⁴ ki²⁴⁻²² biau²²/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bo̍k-bêng-kî-miāu
    • Tâi-lô: bo̍k-bîng-kî-miāu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: bogbengkimiau
    • IPA (Taipei): /bɔk̚⁴⁻³² biɪŋ²⁴ ki²⁴⁻¹¹ miãu³³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /bɔk̚⁴⁻³² biɪŋ²³ ki²³⁻³³ miãu³³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: mog⁸ mêng⁵ ki⁵ miou⁶
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: mo̍k mêng khî miŏu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mok̚⁴⁻² meŋ⁵⁵⁻¹¹ kʰi⁵⁵⁻¹¹ miou³⁵/
• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ⁸moq-min ⁶ji-miau
    • MiniDict: moh^入 min ji^去 miau
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁵moq-min ³jji-miau
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /moʔ¹¹ min³³  d͡ʑi²² miɔ⁴⁴/

Idiom

莫名其妙

1. puzzling; baffling; inexplicable

Usage notes

其妙 (qímiào, “what the profundity is”) is not to be confused with 奇妙 (qímiào, “fantastic”).