有意无意 (yǒu yì wú yì) — intentionally or unintentionally; wittingly or unwittingly; (adverbial) in a way that may or may not be deliberate
Definition
Idiom meaning 'intentionally or unintentionally' — something the speaker did without clear purpose, or done half-consciously. Often used with 地 to modify a verb, leaving the real intent ambiguous.
idiom
intentionally or unintentionallywittingly or unwittingly(adverbial) in a way that may or may not be deliberate
Examples
- 有意无意，。Tā yǒu yì wú yì dì tí qǐ le nà jiàn shì, ràng wǒ hěn gān gà.He brought up that matter, intentionally or not, and made me very embarrassed.
- 有意无意，。Tā yǒu yì wú yì dì kàn le wǒ yì yǎn, rán hòu jì xù gōng zuò.She glanced at me, whether on purpose or not, and then continued working.
- 有意无意。Zuò zhě zài wén zhōng yǒu yì wú yì dì pī píng le zhè zhǒng shè huì xiàn xiàng.The author criticized this social phenomenon in the text, perhaps deliberately or perhaps not.
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