📖 Meaning
Something so extraordinary and marvelous that its workings cannot be grasped or anticipated. It describes a phenomenon, skill, or power that is wonderfully mysterious and beyond human comprehension.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase comes from the travel essay 'Three Days on the Yangtze' (长江三日) by the modern writer Liu Baiyu. In the essay, he describes sailing through the Three Gorges, where brilliant sunlight and milky clouds intertwine in an uncanny display — just steps apart, one side lies in bright sun while the other is shrouded in mist. Struck by this surreal scene, he exclaims that it is truly 'shén miào mò cè,' marveling at the wondrous unpredictability of nature's beauty.
💡 Example Usage
这位老魔术师的手法神妙莫测，观众怎么也看不出破绽。
The veteran magician's technique was so wondrously inscrutable that the audience could not spot a single flaw.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 神妙莫测
- Pinyin: shén miào mò cè
- Literal Translation: divine, wondrous, cannot, fathom
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4