mok6 ming4莫名

Jyutpingmok6 ming4

Yalemohk mìhng

形容詞Common

Definition

Inexplicable; difficult to explain or describe.

colloquialdescriptionsemotion

How it's used

Often used to describe feelings or situations that lack a clear cause or logical explanation. It functions as an adjective that frequently precedes nouns like 感覺 or 壓力 to emphasize a sense of mystery or confusion. Unlike formal written Chinese where it might stand alone, in Cantonese it is almost always paired with a noun or used as an adverbial modifier with 咁.

Examples

keoi5佢mok6莫ming4名gam3咁faat3發pei4脾hei3氣，daai6大gaa1家dou1都m4唔zi1知faat3發sang1生me1咩si6事。

He lost his temper for no reason, and nobody knew what happened.

le1呢zung3種mok6莫ming4名ge3嘅bat1不on1安gam2感，zan1真hai6係hou2好naan4難jing4形jung4容。

This feeling of inexplicable unease is really hard to describe.

Common phrases

mok6莫ming4名kei4其miu6妙

baffling or absurd

mok6莫ming4名ge3嘅gam2感gok3覺

an inexplicable feeling

Common mistake

Learners often confuse this with 冇名, which literally means nameless or anonymous. Ensure you use 莫名 to describe the abstract quality of being inexplicable rather than the literal absence of a name.