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意思

yì si
HSK 2.0 Level 2 HSK 3.0 Level 2 Noun Very common

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Definitions

  1. 1. idea
  2. 2. opinion
  3. 3. meaning
  4. 4. wish
  5. 5. desire
  6. 6. interest
  7. 7. fun
  8. 8. token of appreciation, affection etc
  9. 9. to give as a small token
  10. 10. to do sth as a gesture of goodwill etc

Word relationships

Register variants

1 item
小意思
xiǎo yì si

small token

casual phrase meaning 'just a small token'

Related words

1 item
趣味
qù wèi

fun; interest; delight

意思 when meaning interest or fun

Synonyms

1 item
含义
hán yì

meaning (implicit in a phrase)

意思 when referring to meaning of a word or phrase

Usage notes

Collocations

有意思 means 'interesting' or 'meaningful'; 没意思 means 'boring' or 'pointless'.

Common mistakes

Don't confuse 意思 (yìsi) with 意见 (yìjiàn): 意思 refers to meaning or intent; 意见 refers to opinion or objection.

Example Sentences

5 shown
这两个词的 意思 很相似。
The meanings of these two words are very similar.
这个字的 意思 是什么？
What is the meaning of this character?
你懂这个字的 意思 吗？
Do you understand the meaning of this character?
媒体歪曲了他的 意思 。
The media distorted his meaning.
这个符号是什么 意思 ？
What does this symbol mean?

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 意思

不好意思
bù hǎo yì si

to feel embarrassed

有意思
yǒu yì si

interesting

没意思
méi yì si

boring

够意思
gòu yì si

wonderful

好意思
hǎo yì si

to have the nerve

小意思
xiǎo yì si

small token

意思意思
yì sī yì sī

to do a little something as a token of one's appreciation

没有意思
méi yǒu yì si

boring

Child Words of 意思

思
sī

to think

意
yì

idea