‘意义’ (yì yì) is a noun meaning ‘meaning’ or ‘significance’—the importance, value, or interpretation something holds in a particular context. It combines two characters: 意 (yì), meaning ‘idea’, ‘thought’, or ‘intention’, and 义 (yì), meaning ‘righteousness’, ‘justice’, or ‘sense/meaning’. Together, they emphasize not just literal definition but deeper conceptual weight—what something represents or why it matters to people.

This word appears frequently in academic, philosophical, emotional, and social contexts—for example, discussing the meaning of life, the significance of a historical event, or the personal importance of a relationship. Unlike the more concrete word 含义 (hányì, ‘literal meaning’), 意义 often carries an evaluative or subjective dimension: it implies relevance, impact, or moral or emotional resonance. It’s commonly used after classifiers like ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘great’, or ‘little’, and frequently follows verbs like 有 (yǒu, ‘to have’) or 失去 (shīqù, ‘to lose’).