HSK 2 · Common Things

意思 yìsi “meaning” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 意思 means

  1. meaning
  2. idea
  3. opinion
  4. wish
  5. desire
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • interest

Measure word 个 gè · 一个意思 yí ge yìsi

How to say 意思

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale意yì4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the neutral tone: short and light, with no contour of its own思sineutral tone, light and short

Grey pinyin is a neutral tone: say it short and light. More on the neutral tone

意思 in a sentence

  1. 我知道你的意思。

    Wǒ zhīdao nǐ de yìsi.

    I know what you mean.

    Sentence #834604 from Tatoeba

  2. 您知道这个词的意思吗？

    Nín zhīdao zhè ge cí de yìsi ma?

    Do you know the meaning of this word?

    Sentence #346132 from Tatoeba

  3. 我不明白这句话的意思。

    Wǒ bù míngbai zhè jù huà de yìsi.

    I don’t understand what this sentence means.

    Sentence #2122342 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 意思 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 意 (yì) with each of its parts in a different colour
意yìidea; thought; meaning; sense
  • 音sound · yīnSound part
  • 心heart · xīnMeaning part

心 hints at the meaning (heart); 音 (yīn) hints at the sound. Compare it with yì.

Memory aidA sound 音 from the heart 心: a thought, a meaning.

The character 思 (sī) with each of its parts in a different colour
思sīto thinklight in 意思
  • 田field · tián
  • 心heart · xīn

Memory aidA head 田 (once a drawing of the skull) above the heart 心: to think.

How to write 意思

意 13 strokes · 思 9 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

意思 (yìsi) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 意思 (yìsi). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 意思

Words with 意

没意思méiyìsi · boring有意思yǒuyìsi · interesting不好意思bùhǎoyìsi · to feel embarrassed同意tóngyì · agree愿意yuànyì · be willing注意zhùyì · pay attention to满意mǎnyì · satisfied意见yìjiàn · idea得意déyì · proud of oneself生意shēngyi · business

Words with 思

没意思méiyìsi · boring有意思yǒuyìsi · interesting不好意思bùhǎoyìsi · to feel embarrassed思考sīkǎo · to reflect on思想sīxiǎng · thought沉思chénsī · to ponder反思fǎnsī · to reflect on构思gòusī · to conceive (an idea or plot)思索sīsuǒ · to ponder思念sīniàn · to miss

More words: Everyday Things

问题wèntí · question事情shìqing · matter颜色yánsè · colour公共汽车gōnggòng qìchē · bus船chuán · a boat护照hùzhào · passport辆liàng · mw for vehicles自行车zìxíngchē · bike

FAQs

意思 (yìsi) means “meaning” or “idea”. It is an HSK 2 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it yìsi: yì with a 4th tone, then si with a neutral tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 意思 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Use 个 (gè). For example, one meaning is 一个意思 (yí ge yìsi).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yisi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 意思 from the suggestions. Typing yisi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
意思 is an HSK 2 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.