yisi

The rich meaning of 意思 (yìsi) in Chinese

Last week, my British student Mark came to China for a business trip. He told me that his Chinese colleague gave him some Shanghai local specialties.

“My colleague said ’zhè shì yì diǎnr xiǎo yìsi’. But I didn’t understand and got totally confused about意思 (yìsi),” he said.

Actually it is not only Mark who has such problem but most of our students. So to help all the Marks out there, let’s look at some examples for the most common uses of  意思 (yìsi)!

1. meaning; idea

 

(1) (Zhè shì shénme yìsi?)

这是什么意思?

What does this mean?

(2) (Zhè ge jùzi shì shénme yìsi?)

这个句子是什么意思?

What is the meaning of this sentence?

 

2. intention; wish; desire

(1) (Zhè piān wénzhāng de zhōngxīn yìsi shì shénme?)

这篇文章的中心意思是什么?

What is the main meaning of this article?

(2) (Wǒ bù míngbai tā de yìsi.)

我不明白他的意思

I don’t understand what he meant.

 

3. a token of affection, appreciation, etc.

(1) (Zhè shì yì diǎn xiǎo yìsi , qǐng shōu xià.)

这是一点小意思,请收下。

This is a little piece of cake, please accept it.

(2) (Nǐ yìsi yí xià jiù hǎo le , bú yòng gěi nà me duō lǐwù.)

你意思一下就好了,不用给那么多礼物。

You don’t need to give so many gifts, a piece of case is just fine.

 

4. interest; fun

(1) (Dǎ lánqiú hěn yǒuyì)

打篮球很有意思。

Playing basketball is very interesting.

(2) (Tā gàosu wǒ xuéxí wàiyǔ méiyǒu yì)

他告诉我学习外语没有意思。

He told me that learning foreign languages is not interesting.

 

5. feel embarrassed;sorry

(1) (Bù hǎo yìsi , dǎrǎo yí xià.)

不好意思,打扰一下。

Excuse me.

(2) (Wǒ kāi huì chídào le, juédé hěn bù hǎo yì)

我开会迟到了,觉得很不好意思。

I felt very embarrassed that I was late for meeting.

 

So now, do you still have any other question about “yìsi”? Please feel free to ask us questions in the comments below!

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