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故意gù yìdeliberately; on purpose

HSK 4word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

故意 (gù yì) means "deliberately" or "on purpose." It shows that someone did something intentionally, as in 我不是故意的 (it's not on purpose). It often appears in apologies and in complaints, for example when someone asks 你是故意的吗 to find out whether a mistake was really an accident.

What does 故意 mean?

  1. 1.

    deliberately; on purposeadverb

What do the characters in 故意 mean?

  • 故intentional
  • 意(bound form) intention; feeling; inclination; state of mind

How do you use 故意?

故意 goes before the verb. 不是故意的 is a common way to say sorry for an accident.

What are some examples of 故意 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 7–9

    对不起，我不是故意的。

    Duìbuqǐ, wǒ bú shì gùyì de.

    Sorry, it's not on purpose.

  2. HSK 7–9

    他故意不接我的电话。

    Tā gùyì bù jiē wǒ de diànhuà.

    He deliberately doesn't answer my calls.

  3. HSK 7–9

    她故意说得很慢。

    Tā gùyì shuō de hěn màn.

    She speaks slowly on purpose.

How is 故意 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    你看，我的杯子坏了。

    Nǐ kàn, wǒ de bēizi huài le.

    Look, my cup is broken.

  2. Speaker B:

    我弟弟拿了，他不是故意的。

    Wǒ dìdi ná le, tā bú shì gùyì de.

    My younger brother took it. It's not on purpose.

  3. Speaker A:

    没关系，这个杯子很便宜。

    Méi guānxi, zhège bēizi hěn piányi.

    It's OK. This cup is cheap.

  4. Speaker B:

    明天我给你买一个新的。

    Míngtiān wǒ gěi nǐ mǎi yí ge xīn de.

    Tomorrow I'll buy you a new one.

What should you learn next?

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.