意图

• Pinyin: yì tú
• Hanzi breakdown: 意 = 音 + 心 (sound + heart — thought, intent); 图 = 囗 + 啚 (enclosure + stored granary — a plan, a layout)

Meaning

Intention; intent; purpose. The deliberate aim or design behind an action, especially in formal, legal, or diplomatic contexts.

More formal than 意思 or 打算. Commonly used in legal discourse (犯罪意图 — criminal intent), political analysis (政治意图 — political intention), and literary criticism (作者意图 — authorial intent). Can function as a noun or, less commonly, as a verb (意图做某事 — to intend to do something). Collocations: 真实意图 (true intent), 隐藏意图 (hidden motive), 战略意图 (strategic intention).

Examples

1. 检察官在庭审中出示了多组聊天记录，试图证明被告在实施诈骗行为前已具备明确的主观意图，而非出于过失。 In court, the prosecutor presented multiple sets of chat logs in an attempt to prove that the defendant had clear criminal intent before carrying out the fraud, rather than acting out of negligence.
2. 外交部发言人表示，任何将此次军事演习解读为具有挑衅意图的说法均属误导，演习完全符合常规防御训练的范畴。 A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that any claim interpreting this military exercise as having provocative intent is misleading; the drill falls entirely within the scope of routine defensive training.
3. 这部小说的叙事结构颇为复杂，部分学者认为作者的真实意图在于通过多重视角的并置揭示记忆与身份认同之间的内在张力。 The narrative structure of this novel is quite complex; some scholars argue that the author’s real intent is to reveal the underlying tension between memory and identity by placing multiple perspectives side by side.

Usage Guide

Context: law, diplomacy, analysis, academic writing

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 在评估这项政策调整时，分析人士认为有必要区分其表面的技术性措辞与背后潜藏的政治意图，因为两者之间往往存在显著落差。(When assessing this policy adjustment, analysts argue it is necessary to distinguish between its surface-level technical language and the underlying political intention, as a significant gap often exists between the two.)
• 法庭在量刑阶段将重点审查被告实施伤害行为时的主观意图，以判断其行为究竟属于故意伤害还是因失控情绪引发的冲动行为。(The court will focus in the sentencing phase on examining the subjective intent of the defendant at the time of the harmful act, to determine whether the conduct constitutes intentional injury or an impulsive act resulting from uncontrolled emotion.)

Don't Say

• 我有意图去旅行 — 意图 as a verb requires a negation or a context of concealment or suspicion; for simple plans say 我打算去旅行 or 我有意去旅行; 意图做某事 typically implies hidden or contested intent

Origin & History

意 (thought/intent — 音 sound + 心 heart; what the heart intends) + 图 (plan/map — 囗 enclosure + 啚 granary stored within; a planned layout)

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal