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下意识 (xià yì shí) — (noun) subconscious mind; (adverb) subconsciously, instinctively

Definition

下意识 (xià yì shí) is 'subconscious' — the mental layer beneath awareness. As an adverb it means 'without thinking'; 本能 is sharper, meaning an innate behavioral reflex (like flinching).

noun
subconscious mind
adverb
subconsciouslyinstinctively

Examples

  • 下意识。
    Tā xià yì shí dì duǒ kāi le nà liàng chē.
    He subconsciously dodged that car.
  • 下意识。
    Rén de xià yì shí huì yǐng xiǎng hěn duō xíng wéi.
    A person's subconscious mind can influence many behaviors.
  • 下意识。
    Wǒ xià yì shí lǐ jué de zhè ge jué dìng bú duì.
    I subconsciously felt that this decision was wrong.

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.

下xiàlower
意识consciousness
意yìthought/meaning识shíknowledge/consciousness
联合Coordinate

下 for lower and 意识 for consciousness combine to mean what lies below conscious awareness.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 意 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 識; 识 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánsay
Sound part声符shēngfú
戠
戠zhí識zhì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 識 pairs 言 (say) with 戠 as a sound part; the simplified 识 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 识 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Thinking & Cognition

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