Skip to content

故意

gù yì
HSK 2.0 Level 4 HSK 3.0 Level 4 Adverb Common

Definitions

  1. 1. deliberately; on purpose

Stop forgetting what you study. Build recall daily.

Try HanyuGuide's Chinese review system with multiple choice, typed recall, tone-aware practice, and reviews scheduled before memory fades.

Get Yearly · $49.99 / year

Sign up with Google
Continue with Email

By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Try a practice session

Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item
无意
wú yì

inadvertent

表示不是有意的，没有意图地。

Related words

1 item
存心
cún xīn

deliberately

常用于口语，带有明显的贬义，指怀有某种念头。

Synonyms

1 item
刻意
kè yì

intentionally; deliberately; purposely

当表示有意识地做某事时，两者常可互换，但‘刻意’更强调精心设计或追求某种效果。

Usage notes

Collocations

Often used with verbs like 做, 说, 破坏, or 隐瞒 to stress the action was done on purpose.

Common mistakes

Don't confuse with 特意 (tè yì), which means 'specially' for a particular purpose, often with a positive or neutral tone, while 故意 can carry a negative connotation.

Grammar

Guides that feature 故意

Jump into a full guide with fill-in-the-blank drills. Clicking will load the page and move you to the top.

2 guides
HSK 2.0 Level 6+ HSK 3.0 Level 7–9+ 6 min
（因）……，故…… for “Since …, Therefore …”

Read and write formal notices with （因）……，故……, where 故 means “therefore” and 因 means “because of”.

Reading: gù yì Open guide
HSK 2.0 Level 4+ HSK 3.0 Level 4+ 6 min
Manner Adverbs 故意, 互相 and 相互

Say someone did something on purpose with 故意, and that people do something to each other with 互相 or the more formal 相互.

Reading: gù yì Open guide

Example Sentences

3 shown
他 故意 把声音压得很低。
He deliberately lowered his voice.
他总是 故意 刁难新员工。
He always deliberately makes things difficult for new employees.
你 故意 犯這個錯, 是嗎?
Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 775860)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org. AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 故意

故
gù

happening

意
yì

idea