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特意 (tè yì) — (adverb) specially, for a specific purpose; deliberately (with positive/neutral intent)

Definition

特意 (tèyì) means 'specially, on purpose,' with a positive or caring tone — like 专门, but lighter. Unlike 刻意, it carries no hint of calculation or ill intent.

adverb
speciallyfor a specific purposedeliberately (with positive/neutral intent)

Examples

  • 特意。
    Mā ma tè yì wèi wǒ zuò le wǒ zuì ài chī de cài.
    Mom specially made my favorite dish for me.
  • 特意。
    Tā tè yì cóng běi jīng zuò fēi jī lái kàn wǒ.
    He flew all the way from Beijing specially to see me.
  • ，特意。
    Wèi le zhè cì kǎo shì, wǒ tè yì fù xí le yí gè yuè.
    I deliberately studied for a whole month for this exam.

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.

特tèspecial
意yìintention

特 and 意 combine: a special intention makes something deliberate.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
牛牛niúox
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì特tè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape combines 牛 (ox) with 寺, which gives the pronunciation; it originally meant a large bull.

Open 特 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 意 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Will & Intention

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