秘 meaning and stroke order
Secret, mysterious, abstruse
How to write 秘, stroke by stroke
10 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 秘
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- see 秘魯|秘鲁[Bi4 lu3]
- secret
- secretary
- variant of 秘[mi4]
How 秘 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Grain.
禾 gives the meaning and 必 hints at the sound.
Radical: 禾 (cereal), shared by 66 characters on this site.
How to remember 秘
秘 is grain 禾 (hé) on the left with 必 (bì) on the right giving the sound. Picture a farmer who must 必 keep his best grain 禾 recipe a secret.
秘 rarely stands alone. It appears in words like 秘密 (mìmì, secret), 神秘 (shénmì, mysterious) and 秘书 (mìshū, secretary). Example: 这是我们的秘密。(Zhè shì wǒmen de mìmì.) This is our secret.
Common mistake: Learners often write 秘 with the left side 礻 instead of 禾. The 礻 version 祕 is the traditional form, so in simplified Chinese use 禾, which has a short slanted stroke on top. Also read the phonetic 必 as bì but the character itself as mì in almost every word.
Common words with 秘
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 秘密 | mìmì | secret; private; confidential; clandestine; a secret | HSK 4 |
| 神秘 | shénmì | mysterious; mystery | HSK 4 |
| 秘书 | mìshū | secretary | HSK 4 |
| 秘书长 | mìshūzhǎng | secretary-general | HSK 6 |
| 秘诀 | mìjué | secret know-how; key (to longevity) | HSK 7-9 |
| 秘方 | mìfāng | secret recipe | HSK 7-9 |
| 奥秘 | àomì | secret; mystery | HSK 7-9 |
| 隐秘 | yǐnmì | secret; hidden | |
| 秘密警察 | mìmìjǐngchá | secret police | |
| 便秘 | biànmì | constipation; Taiwan pr. [bian4bi4] | |
| 秘书处 | mìshūchù | secretariat | |
| 秘籍 | mìjí | rare book; cheat code (video games) |
秘 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 秘
How many strokes are in 秘?
秘 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 秘 mean?
秘 (mì) means secret, mysterious, abstruse. A common word with it is 秘密 (mìmì), meaning "secret; private; confidential; clandestine; a secret".
How do you pronounce 秘?
秘 is pronounced mì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 秘?
The radical of 秘 is 禾, which carries the idea of "cereal". Dictionaries list 秘 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 秘?
The traditional form of 秘 is 祕. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 秘 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 秘 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 秘 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
When is 秘 pronounced bì instead of mì?
Only in the country name 秘鲁 (Bìlǔ), Peru. Everywhere else, including 秘密 and 秘书, it is mì.
What is the difference between 秘密 and 神秘?
秘密 (mìmì) is mainly a noun meaning a secret, or an adjective meaning confidential. 神秘 (shénmì) is an adjective meaning mysterious, used for people, places or events that feel strange or unknown.