rätselhaft
Translation
mysterious, enigmatic, puzzling
Examples
Sie lösten den rätselhaften Fall.
They solved the mysterious case.
Wir folgten dem rätselhaften Hinweis.
We followed the mysterious clue.
Grammar Patterns
a rätselhafter + Noun a mysterious ... (attributive) Das ist ein rätselhafter Fall.
sth. is rätselhaft sth. is mysterious (predicative) Seine Reaktion war rätselhaft.
Similar Words
Synonyms: mysteriös, geheimnisvoll; Antonyms: klar, offensichtlich
Etymology
From the noun 'das Rätsel' (riddle, puzzle) + the suffix '-haft' (like, having the quality of). So, literally 'riddle-like'.
Memory Tips
If you know 'das Rätsel' means 'riddle', then 'rätselhaft' is easy to remember as 'riddle-like' or 'puzzling'.