Chinese Language Learning: Chinese Words-意思 (yìsi)

Key Learning Point (Preview):

意思 (yìsi): n. meaning

Frank is my friend from America. One day, he came to me and told me that he heard a conversation between two Chinese people which confused him. The conversation went as follows:
Nǐ zhège rén zhēn yǒu yìsi.
A: 你这个人真有意思。

Bù hǎo yìsi, gāngcái ràng nǐ jiànxiào le
B: 不好意思，刚才让你见笑了。

He said “意思 (yìsi)” was used twice, and he didn’t know what it meant at all. In fact, the first “意思 (yìsi)” means interesting, and the second is used to mean sorry. The word “意思 (yìsi)” is commonly used in Chinese, and it literally refers to “meaning.” However, it has different meanings in different situations.

Key Learning Point:

意思 (yìsi): n. meaning

(1) “意思 (yìsi) is often used to show that things or people are interesting.

Examples:

Māo hé Lǎoshǔ zhè bù dònghuàpiàn tǐng yǒu yìsi de.
《猫和老鼠》这部动画片挺有意思的。
The animation Tom and Jerry is interesting.

Tā nánpéngyou tǐng yǒu yìsi de, zǒng ài jiǎng xiàohua.
她男朋友挺有意思的，总爱讲笑话。
Her boyfriend is funny. He always loves to tell jokes.

(2) It often appears in the expression “不好意思 (bù hǎo yìsi),” meaning “sorry” or “excuse me.” When you do something wrong but it’s not serious, you can use “不好意思 (bù hǎo yìsi)” to show that you’re sorry. If you feel sorry for bothering or troubling someone, you can also use it.

Examples:

Bù hǎo yìsi, wǒ chídào le.
Frank: 不好意思，我迟到了。
Sorry, I am late.