mystery

mystery — 名詞

1. a fact, event, or situation whose cause or explanation is unknown or hidden

1.名詞B1
釋義

謎；神秘事物

無法解釋或理解的事物

a fact, event, or situation whose cause or explanation is unknown or hidden

例句

How the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids remains a mystery to this day.

古埃及人是如何建造金字塔的，至今仍是個謎。

remain a mystery to + time expression

The cause of the shipwreck is still a complete mystery to investigators.

這起船難的原因對調查人員來說仍是個未解之謎。

a complete / total / absolute mystery (intensifier pattern)

同義詞
  • enigma

    more formal and literary; suggests something deeply puzzling or even unknowable

  • puzzle

    more everyday; often implies something solvable, like a game or logic problem

  • riddle

    playful or folkloric tone; a cryptic question or paradox

反義詞
  • answer

    what resolves a mystery

  • solution

    the explanation that clears up the mystery

用法筆記

Often used in the pattern 'it remains a mystery' or 'it is a mystery to [someone]'. Can be both countable ('a mystery', 'the mystery') and uncountable ('There is mystery in the air').

常見錯誤

❌The reason for his anger is a mysterious.
✅The reason for his anger is a mystery.
💡'mysterious' is an adjective; use the noun 'mystery' after 'is a'.
❌The mystery why she left has never been solved.
✅The mystery of why she left has never been solved.
💡'mystery' is followed by 'of' before a wh-clause, not directly by the clause.

2. a work of fiction in which a puzzling crime is investigated and all the hidden f

2.名詞B1
釋義

推理；懸疑

以犯罪疑團為主軸的故事作品

a work of fiction in which a puzzling crime is investigated and all the hidden facts come to light by the end

例句

Christopher loves reading mysteries on the train during his daily commute.

Christopher 喜歡在每天通勤的火車上看推理小說。

mystery as a countable noun for a story genre

The new mystery series on Netflix kept Beatriz guessing until the final episode.

Netflix 那部新的懸疑影集讓 Beatriz 一路猜想到最後一集。

mystery series / mystery novel / mystery film (noun modifier)

同義詞
  • whodunit

    informal; specifically a story where the central puzzle is the identity of the criminal

  • detective story

    narrower focus; the main character is a professional or amateur detective

用法筆記

Commonly used as a noun modifier: 'mystery novel', 'mystery writer', 'mystery series'. The plural 'mysteries' can refer to the whole genre ('I enjoy reading mysteries').

常見錯誤

❌I am reading a mystery romance novel.
✅I am reading a mystery novel about a disappearance.
💡The genre label 'mystery' requires a crime, puzzle, or unexplained event as a central plot element.