无意间

無意間

wúyìjiān

adverb #22,131

Meanings

1 inadvertently
2 unintentionally
3 by accident
4 without meaning to

Characters

without, lacking

intention, meaning, mind

among, in the midst of (here: 'in the space of')

Examples

她无意间听到了他们的谈话。

Tā wúyìjiān tīng dào le tāmen de tánhuà.

She inadvertently overheard their conversation.

他无意间打碎了那个花瓶。

Tā wúyìjiān dǎsuì le nàge huāpíng.

He accidentally broke that vase.

Tips

grammar

无意间 is an adverbial phrase modifying a verb to indicate the action was accidental or unintentional. It is slightly more literary than 不小心 (carelessly). Compare: 有意 (intentionally) — 无意 is its opposite.

Stroke Order

无 wú

意 yì

间 jiān