无意间 (wú yì jiān) — inadvertently, unintentionally

Definition

An adverb meaning 'by accident / without meaning to' — emphasizes that something happened unintentionally, not on purpose. Pairs naturally with 把-constructions (他无意间把杯子打碎了).

adverb
inadvertentlyunintentionally

Examples

  • 无意间。
    Tā wú yì jiān fā xiàn le yí gè mì mì.
    He inadvertently discovered a secret.
  • 无意间。
    Wǒ wú yì jiān tí dào le nà jiàn shì.
    I unintentionally mentioned that matter.
  • 无意间。
    Tā wú yì jiān bǎ bēi zi dǎ suì le.
    She inadvertently broke the cup.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

无意without intention
无wúnot have意yìintention
动宾Verb + object
间jiāninterval

'无' means not have and '意' means intention; '间' places the action in that state.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 意 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 间 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.