Chinese word

无意

Pronunciation

Pinyinwú yì

Meaning

  • adjectiveunintentional

Example

我无意冒犯你，请原谅。wǒ wú yì mào fàn nǐ qǐng yuán liàng

I do not mean to offend you; please forgive me.

Illustration for 无意 (unintentional)

More examples

他的一句无意的批评让我很难过。tā de yí jù wú yì de pī píng ràng wǒ hěn nán guò

One unintentional criticism from him made me very sad.

Core concept

An action falls outside the mind's chosen plan, whether it happens by chance or before conscious thought.

Common phrases

  • 无意的举动wú yì de jǔ dòng

    unintentional act

  • 无意的伤害wú yì de shāng hài

    unintentional harm

  • 无意的后果wú yì de hòu guǒ

    unintended consequences

Similar words

无心wú xīn: Occurring without the person intending or planning the action.
无意识wú yì shí: Occurring while the person is unaware of the action.
故意gù yì: Purposefully carried out to achieve a chosen aim.
不小心bù xiǎo xīn: Happening accidentally because the person fails to pay close attention.

Definition in Chinese

没有意图或目的的，不是故意为之的状态。méi yǒu yì tú huò mù dì de bú shì gù yì wèi zhī de zhuàng tài

Word origin

无意 (wúyì, "unintentional") combines 无 (wú, "without") with 意 (yì, "intention"), so its structure points to an action lacking a planned aim.

Usage tips

  • In an apology, English "I did not mean to" often sounds more natural than a literal statement about intention, because it accepts the result while denying a plan to cause it.

Other meanings

  • accidentallyadverb
  • unconsciouslyadverb
  • without thinkingadverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 无意识wú yì shíunconsciousadjective
  • 无意中wú yì zhōngaccidentallyadverb
  • 无意之中wú yì zhī zhōnginadvertentlyidiom

Word lists with this word