Phrase
on purpose
adverb
故意；有意
with intention; in an intentional manner
- 1.
with intention; in an intentional manner
故意地；有目的地
故意地；有目的地；故意；[法] 故意地
In use
She spilled her drink on purpose to get attention.
I think he left the door unlocked on purpose.
They chose the smallest room on purpose to save money.
do sth on purpose
She broke the vase on purpose.
她故意打破了花瓶。
it is on purpose
用于强调某行为是故意的。
It was not an accident; it was on purpose.
那不是意外，是故意的。
on purpose + to do sth
He left early on purpose to avoid the traffic.
他故意早离开以避开交通拥堵。
Common mistakes
He did it by purpose.He did it on purpose.
“by purpose”是中文“故意”的直译，英语中固定短语是“on purpose”，表示“故意地”。
That was an on purpose action.That was an action on purpose.
“on purpose”是副词短语，不能用作形容词修饰名词；应放在动词后或句末作状语。
Connections
Confusing words
- by accident
- 偶然地 · “on purpose”强调故意，而“by accident”强调非故意，即偶然发生。
- deliberately
- 故意地 · “on purpose”更口语化，而“deliberately”更正式，常用于书面语。
- purposefully
- 有目的地，坚定地 · “on purpose”强调行为有意，而“purposefully”强调行为带有明确目标或决心。
Word family
- purpose
- 目的；意图 · n
- purposeful
- 有目的的；坚定的 · adj
- purposely
- 故意地；特意 · adv
Learner notes
Grammar Note
常置于动词后或句末，表示行为是有意的。
High-value vocabulary
该词属于 Oxford 核心词汇，值得优先掌握常见搭配和句型。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT.