deliberately; on purpose
HSK level
故意 is written with 22 strokes (故: 9, 意: 13). The animation replays automatically.
故意 (gùyì) means 'deliberately, on purpose, or intentionally' — it marks that an action was done with conscious intent rather than by accident.
It usually sits before the verb: 他故意迟到 'he was late on purpose.' Two differences from English 'on purpose.' First, 故意 carries a strong negative or accusatory tone — it almost always implies the intentional act was annoying, harmful, or blameworthy, so you use it to complain ('you did that on purpose!').
To say you did something good deliberately, you more often use 特意 (tèyì, 'specially / went out of one's way to'). Second, unlike neutral English 'intentionally,' 故意 is rarely used for neutral or positive intent; 他特意来看你 ('he came specially to see you') would not use 故意. Register is neutral and common in everyday speech.
Character by character
Memory hook: 故 (with a reason/cause) + 意 (intention) = with deliberate intention — on purpose.
对不起，我不是故意的。
Duìbuqǐ, wǒ búshì gùyì de.
Sorry, I didn't do it on purpose.
spoken
他故意不接我的电话。
Tā gùyì bù jiē wǒ de diànhuà.
He deliberately didn't answer my call.
spoken
你是故意气我吧？
Nǐ shì gùyì qì wǒ ba?
You're annoying me on purpose, aren't you?
spoken
他故意把问题说得很复杂。
Tā gùyì bǎ wèntí shuō de hěn fùzá.
He deliberately made the problem sound complicated.
neutral
特意 means 'specially / went out of one's way to' with a positive, thoughtful tone (特意为你做的 'made this specially for you'). 故意 means 'on purpose' with a negative, blaming tone. Use 特意 for kindness, 故意 for wrongdoing.
有意 means 'intentionally / with intent,' more neutral and often written or legal (有意伤害 'intentional harm'). 故意 is the everyday spoken 'on purpose,' more accusatory. In casual complaints, 故意 is more natural.
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