有意无意

有意無意
yǒuyìwúyì
idiom #43,604

Meanings

  1. 1 intentionally or not (idiom)
  2. 2 half on purpose, half by accident
  3. 3 deliberate or unwitting

Examples

Tā yǒuyìwúyì de piē le wǒ yī yǎn.
He glanced at me in a way that might or might not have been deliberate.
Tā shuōhuà shí yǒuyìwúyì de tídào le zhè jiàn shì.
As she spoke, she brought the matter up as if half by chance.
Jiāzhǎng de tàidù yǒuyìwúyì de yǐngxiǎng zhe háizi.
Parents' attitudes shape their children, consciously or not.

Tips

history
From 《·文学》: Yu Kang asked his nephew what the new fu should really express, and got the reply 正在有意无意之间 — 'it lies precisely between intention and non-intention.' Originally an aesthetic principle; now generalized to any ambiguous action.
usage
Typically adverbial (有意无意 + verb). Describes actions where the speaker can't or won't say whether the agent meant it — deniable but suspicious.

Stroke Order

yǒu