Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
Example phrases
银行突然收紧贷款,公司的现金状况显得相当不妙。Yínháng tūrán shōujǐn dàikuǎn, gōngsī de xiànjīn zhuàngkuàng xiǎnde xiāngdāng búmiào.The bank suddenly tightened lending, and the company's cash position looked quite troubling.
天色突然变暗,看起来情况不妙。Tiānsè tūrán biàn àn, kàn qǐlái qíngkuàng búmiào.The sky suddenly darkened, and things did not look good.
他一听老师的语气就觉得不妙,肯定出事了。Tā yì tīng lǎoshī de yǔqì jiù juéde búmiào, kěndìng chū shì le.As soon as he heard the teacher's tone, he sensed trouble; something must have happened.