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本意 (běn yì) — original intention, real intention; (linguistics) etymon

Definition

本意 names the underlying purpose behind an action or utterance. It overlaps with 初衷 but leans toward what someone privately meant, while 初衷 stresses the aim at the very start.

noun
original intentionreal intention(linguistics) etymon

Examples

  • 本意。
    Tā zhè me zuò de běn yì shì xiǎng bāng zhù dà jiā.
    His original intention in doing this was to help everyone.
  • 本意，。
    Bié wù huì wǒ de běn yì, wǒ wán quán shì wèi le nǐ hǎo.
    Don't misunderstand my real intention; I'm completely for your own good.
  • “”本意“”。
    "Mín zhǔ" zhè ge cí de lā dīng běn yì shì "rén mín de tǒng zhì".
    The Latin etymon of the word 'democracy' is 'rule by the people'.

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.

本běnoriginal
意yìintention

本 gives the idea of original, and 意 is intention, together meaning the real intention.

Characters in this word

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

本 adds a stroke at the bottom of a tree shape to mark the roots, giving the sense of foundation or original.

Open 本 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 意 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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