The character consists of 音 /yīn/ SOUND and 心 /xīn/ HEART.
We are looking at the “sound of heart”.
Chinese thinking doesn’t see mind and heart (emotions) as two divided phenomenons.
They are connected and they both are located in our hearts.
And just as a music instrument produces sounds 音 /yīn/, our mind produces THOUGHTS and IDEAS. It has its EXPECTATIONS and when we meet our EXPECTATIONS, we are SATISFIED.
Our mind (conscious) interprets the world around us and gives it MEANING and SENSE.
In order to work properly, we have to be able to address our ATTENTION.
So it is no surprise that we find 意 /yì/ in all of these words – and that is just a part – you will find here more.
TEST WHAT YOU KNOW
Pick the right character(s) for MEANING
满意
mǎnyì
SATISFIED
意思
yìsi
MEANING
注意
zhùyì
ATTENTION (TO PAY)
愿意
yuànyì
WILLING TO to be
Pinyin
汉字
LEARN NEW
SENSE
MEANING
意思
yìsi
yìsi
INTERESTING
to be
有意思
yǒuyìsi
yǒuyìsi
Yesterday I watched a very interesting film.
我 昨天 看 了 很 有意思 的 电影。
<Wǒ zuótiān kànle hěn yǒuyìsi de diànyǐng.>
I had a very interesting dream.
我 做 了 很 有意思 的 梦。
Wǒ zuòle hěn yǒuyìsi de mèng.
His suggestion is very interesting.
BUSINESS
SATISFIED
SATISFIED
满意
mǎnyì
mǎnyì
I am not satisfied with him either.
我 对 他 也 不 满意。
Wǒ duì tā yě bù mǎnyì.
I am very satisfied with my new car.
PAY ATTENTION
ATTENTION
(TO PAY)
注意
zhùyì
zhùyì
Please pay attention! This is very important.
OBJECTION
TO AGREE
TO AGREE
同意
tóngyì
tóngyì
I agree. You are right!
TO BE WILLING TO
WILLING TO
to be
愿意
yuànyì
yuànyì
Are you willing to ask him?
你 愿意 问 他 吗？
Nǐ yuànyì wèn tā ma?
Regardless of what he says, I’m (still) not willing to go.
Regardless of what the manager says, I’m not willing to do it like this.
UNEXPECTED
ON PURPOSE
ON PURPOSE
故意
gùyì
gùyì
Sorry, it wasn’t on purpose.
He isn’t doing bad things on purpose.
他 不 是 故意 做 坏事。
Tā bùshì gùyì zuò huàishì.
