Chinese phrase
我的意思是〜 wǒ de yì si shì 〜
Meaning
what I mean is ___
When to use it
Clarifies what the speaker means. It often introduces a clearer explanation, correction, or detail after an earlier statement.
Example dialogue
我今天去不了，我的意思是最近工作太忙，可以改天吗？ wǒ jīn tiān qù bù liǎo wǒ de yì si shì zuì jìn gōng zuò tài máng ké yǐ gǎi tiān ma
I can't go today. What I mean is, I've been too busy with work lately. Could we meet another day?
没问题，那我们改天再约。 méi wèn tí nà wǒ men gǎi tiān zài yuē
No problem. Then let's meet another day.