What does 意 mean in Chinese?

意 (yì) means "meaning, intention" in Chinese. The new HSK exam expects you to recognise it at HSK 2.

How do you write 意?

意 is written with 13 strokes, starting from the 心 (heart) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 意?

The radical of 意 is 心 (heart, Kangxi radical #61). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 心, 想, 总, 怎.

How many strokes does 意 have?

The Chinese character 意 has 13 strokes.

What HSK level is 意?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 意 is a character to recognise at HSK 2.

意 (yì): Meaning, Stroke Order, Radical & Examples

意

yì

meaning, intention

HSK 2 character 13 strokes Radical: 心 (heart)

Quick Answer

意 (yì) means "meaning, intention" with 13 strokes, radical 心 (heart), HSK 2 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 意 →Animated stroke-order for 意 →

Pronunciation

yì

Meaning

Primary: meaning

Other meanings:

intention

Etymology

Sound in the heart — meaning, intention

Mnemonic hooks the visual decomposition to a memorable image. The full oracle-bone to modern evolution is being added character-by-character via the Phase 13 etymology pass.

Decomposition

意=音component+心radical

Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.

Basic info

Pinyin	yì
Meanings	meaning, intention
Stroke count	13 strokes
Radical	心 (#61: heart)
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 2
Frequency	#31 most common

Example sentences

注意安全。
Zhùyì ānquán.
Pay attention to safety.
From 意
这是什么意思？
Zhè shì shénme yìsi?
What does this mean?
From 意思 (HSK 2)
我很满意。
Wǒ hěn mǎnyì.
I'm very satisfied.
From 满意 (HSK 3)

Words containing 意

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	HSK
意	yì	meaning, intention
意思	yìsi	meaning	HSK 2
同意	tóngyì	Agree	HSK 3
愿意	yuànyì	Be willing	HSK 3
注意	zhùyì	Be careful	HSK 3
满意	mǎnyì	Satisfied	HSK 3
得意	déyì	Proud	HSK 4
故意	gùyì	deliberately	HSK 4
生意	shēngyi	business	HSK 4
意见	yìjiàn	Opinion	HSK 4
主意	zhǔyi	idea	HSK 4
意外	yìwài	Accident	HSK 5
意义	yìyì	Significance	HSK 5
本意	běnyì	original intention	HSK 7-9
不好意思	bùhǎoyìsi	feel embarrassed	HSK 2
不怀好意	bùhuáihǎoyì	harbor evil intentions
不经意	bùjīngyì	inadvertently, carelessly	HSK 7-9
不在意	bùzàiyì	not care, take no notice of
诚意	chéngyì	sincerity, good faith	HSK 7-9
大意	dàyì	general idea, careless	HSK 7-9

Related characters

Don't confuse with

音

意 (yì) ≠ 音

忆

意 (yì) ≠ 忆

Share the 心 (heart) radical

心xīn 想xiǎng 总zǒng 怎

See all characters with the 心 radical →

Similar meaning (abstract)

不not 大big 公public 分to divide 对correct 定to decide 方direction 得to get

On the new HSK 2 exam

Studying for HSK 2? Keep 意 with the rest of your level.

HSK Lord schedules your reviews so each character comes back right before you would forget it. Free to start, and it picks up where you are.

Start studying free The words new HSK 2 adds

Frequently Asked Questions

Appears in these articles

Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.

意

yì