醉意 (zuì yì) — tipsy feeling, slight drunkenness

Definition

noun

tipsy feelingslight drunkenness

醉意，。
Tā liǎn shàng dài zhe yì sī zuì yì, shuō huà yě màn le xià lái.
He had a hint of tipsiness on his face, and his speech slowed down.
，醉意。
Jǐ bēi jiǔ xià dù, zuì yì jiàn jiàn yǒng le shàng lái.
After a few glasses of wine, a tipsy feeling gradually welled up.
，醉意。
Tā wēi bì zhe yǎn jing, chén jìn zài dàn dàn de zuì yì zhōng.
She half-closed her eyes, immersed in a light tipsy feeling.

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.

意yìfeeling

醉 drunk and 意 feeling combine to mean a feeling of drunkenness.

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.

酉卒醉

Meaning part形符xíngfú

酉酉yǒualcoholic drink

Sound part声符shēngfú

卒

卒zú醉zuì

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

醉 combines 酉, a sign for alcoholic drink, with 卒, which supplies the sound.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.