HSK · Level 34
135 words
Chinese word
下意识
Pronunciation
Pinyinxià yì shí
Meaning
- adverbunconsciously
Example
我下意识笑了。wǒ xià yì shí xiào le
I laughed unconsciously.
More examples
听到熟悉的旋律，他下意识地点头。tīng dào shú xī de xuán lǜ tā xià yì shí dì diǎn tóu
Hearing a familiar melody, he unconsciously nodded.
Core concept
A hidden mental impulse that moves from beneath conscious control into an immediate action or expression.
Common phrases
下意识地点头xià yì shí dì diǎn tóu
unconsciously nod
下意识地退缩xià yì shí dì tuì suō
unconsciously shrink back
下意识地皱眉xià yì shí dì zhòu méi
unconsciously frown
Similar words
不自觉bú zì jué: A person does something without realizing it.
不由自主bù yóu zì zhǔ: A person acts or feels in a way that is difficult to control.
无意识地wú yì shí dì: An action takes place while the mind is not consciously aware of it.
无意中wú yì zhōng: An event or action occurs accidentally rather than by design.
Definition in Chinese
表示某人在没有有意识控制的情况下做出动作或表情，侧重行为的自发性与本能性，可用作副词修饰动词。biǎo shì mǒu rén zài méi yǒu yǒu yì shí kòng zhì de qíng kuàng xià zuò chū dòng zuò huò biǎo qíng cè zhòng xíng wéi de zì fā xìng yǔ běn néng xìng kě yòng zuò fù cí xiū shì dòng cí
Word origin
The compound 下 (xià, "below") + 意识 (yìshí, "awareness") presents the mind as operating below the level of deliberate control.
Usage tips
- In conversation, it commonly comes directly before an action verb when the action starts automatically rather than from a plan.
Other meanings
- unconscious mindnoun
- subconscious mindnoun
Opposites
- 有意识地yǒu yì shí dìconsciouslyadverb
- 刻意地kè yì dìdeliberatelyadverb
Related words
- 意识yì shíconsciousnessnoun
- 潜意识qián yì shísubconscious mindnoun
- 意识到yì shí dàorealizeverb