祕 meaning and stroke order
Secret, mysterious, abstruse
How to write 祕, stroke by stroke
9 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 祕
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- variant of 秘[mi4]
How 祕 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Spirit.
礻 gives the meaning and 必 hints at the sound.
Radical: 礻 (spirit), shared by 43 characters on this site.
How to remember 祕
The left side 礻 is the spirit radical, and the right side 必 (bì) gives the sound. Think of spirits keeping things hidden: what belongs to the spirits is secret and mysterious.
祕 is a variant of 秘 (mì). In mainland China 秘 is the standard form, while 祕 appears in older texts and some traditional-character writing, for example in Taiwan. Example: 這是我家的祕方。(Zhè shì wǒ jiā de mìfāng.) This is my family's secret recipe.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 礻 (spirit) with 衤 (clothing), which has one extra stroke. Also, do not read 祕 as bì just because of the phonetic 必. It is pronounced mì.
Common words with 祕
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 祕
How many strokes are in 祕?
祕 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 祕 mean?
祕 (mì) means secret, mysterious, abstruse. A common word with it is 秘方 (mìfāng), meaning "secret recipe".
How do you pronounce 祕?
祕 is pronounced mì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 祕?
The radical of 祕 is 礻, which carries the idea of "spirit". Dictionaries list 祕 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 祕?
祕 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 秘, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Should I write 祕 or 秘?
In simplified Chinese and most modern use, write 秘. 祕 is an accepted variant you will mostly see in traditional texts or older printing, and it means the same thing.
How is 秘 pronounced in 秘魯 (Peru)?
In the name 秘鲁 (Bìlǔ, Peru), the character 秘 is read bì, not mì. This reading belongs to the 秘 form. In everyday words like 秘密 (mìmì) and 奥秘 (àomì), the reading is mì.