扑朔迷离
pū shuò mí lí
confusing and hard to make out; mysterious
Character by character
扑pū
kicking
kicking
朔shuò
about
about
迷mí
hazy
hazy
离lí
blurred
blurred
Example
这起案件扑朔迷离，警方到现在还没找到嫌疑人。
The case is a tangle, and the police have still not found a suspect.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
From the Ballad of Mulan: a buck hare’s feet kick about (扑朔), a doe’s eyes are half-shut (迷离), and when they run side by side who can tell which is which? Used for criminal cases, plots and situations: 案情扑朔迷离, 局势扑朔迷离.
Learn this in Lesson 125 · HSK 7–9: 哈尔滨头骨之谜 (Interview: the Harbin skull)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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