meaning; idea
HSK level
意思 is written with 22 strokes (意: 13, 思: 9). The animation replays automatically.
意思 (yìsi) is the Chinese noun for 'meaning' — the standard way to ask what a word, sentence, or gesture signifies: 这是什么意思？ ('What does this mean?').
Beyond literal meaning, 意思 has two important secondary uses every learner should know. First, the adjective phrase 有意思 means 'interesting / fun' (这本书很有意思 — 'this book is really interesting'); 没意思 is its opposite ('boring / no fun').
Second, in social contexts 意思 carries a softer 'gesture / token of feeling' sense: 一点小意思 ('just a little something / a small token') is what you say when offering a gift modestly. Pronunciation note: the second 思 is in neutral tone (yìsi, not yìsī), and native speech often shortens it further to yìs.
Character by character
Memory hook: Two characters about thinking — 'thought-thought' becomes the word for 'meaning,' i.e. what someone has in mind.
意思 appears in 5 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
这个词是什么意思？
Zhège cí shì shénme yìsi?
What does this word mean?
spoken
这本书很有意思。
Zhè běn shū hěn yǒu yìsi.
This book is really interesting.
neutral
我不明白你的意思。
Wǒ bù míngbai nǐ de yìsi.
I don't understand what you mean.
spoken
不好意思，我来晚了。
Bù hǎo yìsi, wǒ lái wǎn le.
Sorry, I'm late.
spoken
含义 is the formal/written word for 'connotation / implied meaning.' Use it in essays or analysis; in conversation, ask 什么意思.
意义 means 'significance / value' — bigger and more abstract. 这件事的意义 ('the significance of this matter'). 意思 is concrete 'meaning' of words or actions.
Looks similar but means 'significance / importance,' not 'meaning.' Beginners often substitute one for the other; in everyday questions about word meaning, always 意思.
A fixed phrase using 意思 — means 'embarrassed / sorry / excuse me.' It does NOT mean 'no good meaning.' Memorize it as a chunk.
意识 means 'consciousness / awareness' (失去意识 — 'lose consciousness'). Different word, similar pinyin — don't blur them.
Acquire it by listening
You just saw 意思 in 5 episodes. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.
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