HSK 4 · Objects

主意 zhǔyi “plan” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 主意 means

  1. plan
  2. idea
  3. decision

Measure word 个 gè · 一个主意 yí ge zhǔyi

How to say 主意

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale主zhǔ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the neutral tone: short and light, with no contour of its own意yineutral tone, light and short

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

主意 in a sentence

  1. 这是谁的主意？

    Zhè shì shéi de zhǔyi?

    Whose idea was it?

    Sentence #609960 from Tatoeba

  2. 如果你要改变主意，通知我。

    Rúguǒ nǐ yào gǎibiàn zhǔyi, tōngzhī wǒ.

    If you change your mind, let me know.

    Sentence #1325048 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 多好的主意啊！

    Duō hǎo de zhǔyi a!

    What a good idea!

    Sentence #490135 from Tatoeba

How 主意 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 主 (zhǔ) with each of its parts in a different colour
主zhǔowner
  • 丶dot · zhǔ
  • 王king · wáng

Memory aidThe dot 丶 on top was once the flame of a lamp: the main one, the master.

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

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

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

How to write 主意

主 5 strokes · 意 13 strokes

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

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

Words related to 主意

Words with 主

主要zhǔyào · main主人zhǔrén · master主张zhǔzhāng · to advocate主持zhǔchí · to host (a programme or event)主观zhǔguān · subjective主任zhǔrèn · director公主gōngzhǔ · princess主席zhǔxí · chairperson主题zhǔtí · theme主动zhǔdòng · to take the initiative

Words with 意

意思yìsi · meaning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

More words: Everyday Things

责任zérèn · responsibility知识zhīshi · knowledge质量zhìliàng · quality重点zhòngdiǎn · key point作用zuòyòng · effect车厢chēxiāng · carriage海关hǎiguān · customs (i.e. border crossing inspection)驾驶jiàshǐ · to drive

FAQs

主意 (zhǔyi) means “plan” or “idea”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it zhǔyi: zhǔ with a 3rd tone, then yi with a neutral tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 主意 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Use 个 (gè). For example, one plan is 一个主意 (yí ge zhǔyi).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zhuyi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 主意 from the suggestions. Typing zhuyi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
主意 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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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.