• 秘密ひみつ — secret / confidentiality
• 秘書ひしょ — secretary
• 秘伝ひでん — secret tradition / formula
• 神秘しんぴ — mystery / mystical
• 極秘ごくひ — top secret

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秘 combines 禾 (grain) and 必 (necessary/inevitable), symbolizing something essential yet hidden — like a treasured crop or guarded knowledge. Its kun-yomi ひめる emphasizes the act of keeping something secret or concealed.

彼かれは 何なにか秘密ひみつを 知しっているようだ。
He seems to know some kind of secret.

これは 代々だいだい受うけ継つがれてきた 秘伝ひでんの技わざです。
This is a secret technique passed down through generations.