神 shén — God; unusual; mysterious; soul; spirit; divine essence
他今天看起来很有精神。Tā jīn tiān kàn qǐ lái hěn yǒu jīng shen.He looks very energetic today.
Common words: 精神 (jīng shén)、神秘 (shén mì)、神话 (shén huà)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "mysterious"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "mysterious", including 神 (shén), 奥 (ào), 玄 (xuán). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "mysterious" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 神 (shén), 奥 (ào), 玄 (xuán) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span shén, ào, xuán — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 神 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 神 shénGod; unusual; mysterious; soul; spirit; divine essenceUseful words: 精神, 神秘
- 奥 àoobscure; mysteriousUseful words: 奥秘, 深奥
- 玄 xuánblack; mysteriousUseful words: 玄机, 玄学
Common words for these 3 "mysterious" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 神 (shén) — so "mysterious" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
精神jīng shénspirit; mind; consciousness; thought神秘shén mìmysterious; mystery神话shén huàlegend; fairy tale; myth; mythology奥秘ào mìsecret; mystery深奥shēn àoprofound; abstruse; recondite; profoundly神奥shén àomysterious; an enigma玄机xuán jīprofound theory (in Daoism and Buddhism); mysterious principles玄学xuán xuéWei and Jin philosophical school amalgamating Daoist and Confucian ideals; translation of metaphysics玄理xuán lǐprofound theory; philosophical theory of Wei and Jin 玄学 sect
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "mysterious".
奥 ào — obscure; mysterious
这道题的解法很奥妙。Zhè dào tí de jiě fǎ hěn ào miào.The solution to this problem is very ingenious.
Common words: 奥秘 (ào mì)、深奥 (shēn ào)、神奥 (shén ào)
玄 xuán — black; mysterious
这个故事听起来十分玄妙。Zhè ge gù shi tīng qǐ lái shí fēn xuán miào.This story sounds very mysterious.
Common words: 玄机 (xuán jī)、玄学 (xuán xué)、玄理 (xuán lǐ)
All 3 characters
Open 神、奥、玄 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.