陌生

• Pinyin: mò shēng
• Hanzi breakdown: 陌 = 阝(mound/place radical) + 百(hundred, phonetic); 生 = life/grow — suggesting unfamiliar life territory

Meaning

Unfamiliar; strange; not previously known or encountered.

Describes lack of familiarity with a person, environment, or subject. Can express both physical unfamiliarity and emotional distance — such as feeling like a stranger to someone once close. Common in reflective and emotional contexts.

Examples

1. 初到异乡，面对陌生的环境，他感到既兴奋又忐忑。 Arriving in a new place for the first time, he felt both excited and uneasy in the unfamiliar surroundings.
2. 多年未见之后，曾经亲密无间的两人竟变得如此陌生。 After not seeing each other for years, the two who were once inseparable had become strangely distant.
3. 这个行业对她来说完全陌生，但她决心用勤奋来弥补差距。 This industry is completely unfamiliar to her, but she’s determined to make up the gap through hard work.

Usage Guide

Context: daily life, relationships, personal experience

Tone: neutral/reflective

Do Say

• 对陌生人保持基本的礼貌是重要的社交准则。(Maintaining basic courtesy toward strangers is an important social norm.)
• 这套软件对我来说很陌生，需要一段时间来慢慢熟悉。(This software is very unfamiliar to me; I need some time to gradually get used to it.)

Don't Say

• 说'这个人对我陌生' (The correct structure is '我对这个人感到陌生' or '这个人对我来说很陌生' — the experiencer must be the subject)

Origin & History

陌(path between fields; unfamiliar road) + 生(unfamiliar/raw). The combination emphasises total unfamiliarity with new terrain.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal