TongTong
Sign in

意气用事 (yì qì yòng shì) — to act on impulse; to be swayed by personal feelings

Definition

Idiom: 'to act on impulse / be swayed by personal feelings' — usually negative, meaning decisions driven by emotion rather than reason.

idiom
to act on impulseto be swayed by personal feelings

Examples

  • 意气用事，。
    Tā zuò jué dìng zǒng shì yì qì yòng shì, bù kǎo lǜ hòu guǒ.
    He always makes decisions on impulse, without considering the consequences.
  • ，意气用事。
    Yù dào máo dùn yào lěng jìng, qiān wàn bú yào yì qì yòng shì.
    When you encounter a conflict, stay calm and never act on impulse.
  • 意气用事，。
    Tā yīn wèi yì qì yòng shì, dé zuì le bù shǎo tóng shì.
    Because he acted on impulse, he offended quite a few colleagues.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

意气spirits
意yìmind气qìspirit
联合Coordinate
用事act on affairs
用yònguse事shìaffairs
动宾Verb + object

The 意气 'spirits' and 用事 'act on affairs' together mean acting on impulse.

Characters in this word

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
气
气qì氣qì
Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Open 气 →

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

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

Open 用 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →
Appears in
Emotions & FeelingsIdioms & Set Phrases

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