Dictionary › 意思

意思

yì si

Old HSK 2 HSK 3.0 level 2 2-character word Measure word 个

意思 (yì si) means "idea; meaning". It is an HSK 3.0 level 2 word, and was HSK 2 in the old six-level list.

What 意思 means

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

The characters in 意思

• 意yì(bound form) idea; thought; meaning; sense; (bound form) intention; feeling; inclination…
• 思sīto think; to consider

Example sentences

• 不好意思！
  Excuse me!
• 不好意思？
  Sorry?
• 不好意思……
  I'm sorry.
• 他什么意思？
  What could he mean?
• 这有点意思。
  This is kind of interesting.
• 你什么意思？
  What's your problem?

Words starting with 意思

• 意思意思yì sī yì sīto do a little something as a token of one's appreciation…

Words containing 意思

• 不好意思bù hǎo yì sito feel embarrassed; to find it embarrassing; to be sorry (for inconveniencing sb)
• 有意思yǒu yì siinteresting; meaningful; enjoyable
• 没意思méi yì siboring; of no interest
• 好意思hǎo yì sito have the nerve; what a cheek!; to feel no shame
• 够意思gòu yì siwonderful; great; delightful
• 小意思xiǎo yì sismall token; mere trifle (used of one's gifts)
• 没有意思méi yǒu yì siboring; of no interest

Where 意思 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Communication and Information (HSK 2), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 2 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read yì si correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.