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Describing a situation where the reasons or intentions behind an action are not clear or have not been disclosed.
案件的动机不明，引发了公众的猜测。
The motives behind the case are unclear, sparking public speculation.
他的辞职动机不明，让同事们感到困惑。
His resignation motives were unclear, leaving colleagues confused.
Commonly used in legal, investigative, or analytical contexts to describe lack of transparency in reasons.
When using '动机不明' in neutral contexts (e.g., academic research), clarify that the motives are simply unspecified rather than suspicious. For example: 'The study's motives were unclear' → 'The study's specific objectives were not stated'.
Use '动机不明' in formal or analytical contexts. For casual speech, use simpler phrases like '不知道为什么' (don't know why) or '原因不明' (reason unclear).
The phrase combines '动机' (dòngjī, motive) and '不明' (bù míng, unclear). '动机' originates from the Buddhist term '动机' (action-triggering cause), while '不明' means 'not clear' or 'unknown'. The phrase emerged in modern Chinese as a direct translation of the English concept 'motives unclear', commonly used in legal and investigative contexts.
1. Often used in formal or analytical writing rather than casual speech. 2. Can imply suspicion or lack of transparency when used in negative contexts (e.g., crimes, scandals). 3. Avoid using in contexts where motives are simply unknown but not suspicious (e.g., 'The scientist's research motives were unclear' may sound negative; 'The scientist's research motives were not specified' is neutral).