How to Write 谜 (mí) — Meaning “riddle; puzzle; mystery”

Imagine a person saying 'Mi' (like 'me') while walking (辶) through a field of rice (米) and asking a riddle. The sound 'mí' matches the pronunciation, and the image of walking through rice helps you recall the character for 'riddle'.

Write the speech radical 讠 first, then the right part: start with the top dot and then the curved line for 米, followed by the walking radical 辶 at the bottom. A common mistake is making the 米 too tall, so the 辶 has no room; keep the 米 compact and place the 辶 under it.

谜 (mí) means 'riddle', while 诫 (jiè) means 'warning' or 'admonish', and 诬 (wū) means 'to falsely accuse'. Visually, 谜 has 米 inside, 诫 has 戒 (a dagger-axe), and 诬 has 巫 (a shaman); the radical 讠 is common, but the inner parts change the meaning completely.

谜 is used in words like 谜语 (ríngua) for a riddle to guess, and 谜底 for the solution. It appears in games, puzzles, or metaphors like 'life is a mystery' (人生是个谜). Culturally, guessing riddles (猜谜) is a popular activity during the Lantern Festival.

Common words containing 谜 include: 谜语 (mí yǔ) — riddle; 谜底 (mí dǐ) — the answer to a riddle; 猜谜 (cāi mí) — to guess a riddle.