莫名其妙

mò míng qí miào

HSK 2.0 Level 6 HSK 3.0 Level 7 Uncommon

Save to list

Definitions

1. (idiom) baffling; bizarre; without rhyme or reason; inexplicable

Stop forgetting what you study.
Build recall daily.

Try HanyuGuide's Chinese review system with multiple choice, typed recall, tone-aware practice, and reviews scheduled before memory fades.

Start Free Trial · $49.99 / year

Sign up with Google

Did Google show an error? Sorry about that. Use your email below instead.

Continue with Email

Lifetime for $119.99 Try a practice session

Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 理所当然 lǐ suǒ dāng rán 理所当然 lǐ suǒ dāng rán as it should be by rights (idiom); proper and to be expected as a matter of course 表示合乎情理、应该如此: as it should be by rights (idiom); proper and to be expected as a matter of course

Register variants

1 item

• 摸不着头脑 mō bu zháo tóu nǎo 摸不着头脑 mō bu zháo tóu nǎo to be unable to make any sense of the matter 口语中表达困惑不解: to be unable to make any sense of the matter

Usage notes

Common mistakes

不可写作‘莫明其妙’或‘莫明奇妙’，成语固定为‘莫名其妙’。

Example Sentences

1 shown

他突然生气了，真是 莫名其妙 。

He suddenly got angry; it was really baffling.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 莫名其妙

• 其 其 qí: his
• 名 名 míng: name
• 妙 妙 miào: clever
• 莫 莫 mò: do not
• 莫名 莫名 mò míng: inexpressible; indescribable; unexplainable; inexplicable