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The Meaning of Meaning

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IN THIS LESSON
ID: 2242 Intermediate
There's a whole lot of meaning in 意思 (yìsi), the Chinese word for “meaning”. In this lesson, learn about the many and confusing ways that this word can be used.
Tue Jul 30 2013 | John, Jenny
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Detailed Vocabulary
Each lesson has it's unique vocabulary and will provide you with definitions and recordings so you can practice the pronunciation. You will also be able to grasp the core material of a lesson at a glance. Here we're showing you the Simplified Chinese version.
SIMPLIFIED PINYIN ENGLISH  
过年 guònián to celebrate the New Year
领导 lǐngdǎo leader
红包 hóngbāo red envelope
意思 yìsi meaning
快过年了，小明去看领导，快走的时候拿出一个红包。
kuài guònián le ，Xiǎo Míng qù kàn lǐngdǎo ，kuài zǒu de shíhou náchū yī gè hóngbāo 。
Right before the New Year, Xiao Ming went to see a government official. Before he was about to leave he took out a red envelope.
领导问：”你这是什么意思？”
lǐngdǎo wèn ：”nǐ zhè shì shénme yìsi ？”
The official asked: What do you mean by this?
小明说：”没什么意思。只是意思意思。“
Xiǎo Míng shuō ：”méi shénme yìsi 。zhǐshì yìsi yìsi 。“
Xiao Ming said: I don't mean anything by it. It's just a little gift.
领导说：“我们认识这么久了，你这样做就不够意思了。”
lǐngdǎo shuō ：“wǒmen rènshi zhème jiǔ le ，nǐ zhèyàng zuò jiù bùgòuyìsi le 。”
The official said: We've known each other for a long time. Doing this kind of thing really isn't appropriate.
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