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意识 (yì shí) — (noun) consciousness; awareness; (verb) to be aware; to realize (often used with 到)

Definition

Both a noun ('awareness, consciousness') and a verb ('to realize'), usually taking 到 in the verb sense. 精神 is the general 'spirit/mind', while 意识 specifically means being conscious or aware of something.

noun
consciousnessawareness
verb
to be awareto realize (often used with 到)

Examples

  • 意识。
    Tā duì zhè jiàn shì de yì shí hěn qiáng.
    He has a strong awareness of this matter.
  • 意识。
    Wǒ zhōng yú yì shí dào tā de yì si le.
    I finally realized what he meant.
  • 意识。
    Tí gāo ān quán yì shí fēi cháng zhòng yào.
    Raising safety awareness is very important.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

意yìthought
识shíawareness

意 contributes thought and 识 contributes knowing, together forming awareness.

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 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 →
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