interesting; fun
HSK level
有意思 is written with 28 strokes (有: 6, 意: 13, 思: 9). The animation replays automatically.
有意思 (yǒu yìsi) literally means "to have meaning," but in everyday use it means "interesting, fun, or amusing" — the go-to way to say something caught your attention or made you smile: 这本书很有意思 ("this book is really interesting"), 他是个有意思的人 ("he's a fun/interesting person").
Its negative, 没意思 (méi yìsi), means "boring" or "pointless." Context can also give it a teasing edge — 你这么做是什么意思? shifts toward "what are you getting at?"
Note that 意思 (yìsi) on its own means "meaning" or "intention," and the set phrase 不好意思 (bù hǎoyìsi) means "embarrassed" or "excuse me" — a different idiom built on the same word. Register is casual; 有趣 (yǒuqù) is the slightly more literary synonym.
Note: Everyday spoken phrase. For writing or a more formal tone, 有趣 reads better.
Character by character
Memory hook: Something that 有 (has) 意思 (meaning/point) is worth your attention → interesting.
有意思 appears in 4 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
这个电影很有意思。
Zhège diànyǐng hěn yǒu yìsi.
This movie is really interesting.
spoken
他讲的故事特别有意思。
Tā jiǎng de gùshi tèbié yǒu yìsi.
The stories he tells are especially fun.
spoken
一个人在家真没意思。
Yí ge rén zài jiā zhēn méi yìsi.
Being home alone is really boring.
spoken
我觉得学中文越来越有意思了。
Wǒ juéde xué Zhōngwén yuèláiyuè yǒu yìsi le.
I find learning Chinese more and more interesting.
spoken
有趣 means the same ("interesting/amusing") but is slightly more written and polished. 有意思 is the casual, conversational default.
Acquire it by listening
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