意气用事

yì qì yòng shì

to act on impulse or in a fit of pique

Character by character

意yì
mood

气qì
temper

用yòng
handle

事shì
affairs

遇到矛盾要冷静，千万不能意气用事。

When you hit a problem, keep calm: whatever you do, don’t act in the heat of the moment.

Tone: negative (criticism).

意气 here is temper or feeling, not willpower. Nearly always in warnings and regrets: 别意气用事, 一时意气用事. The calm opposite is 冷静 or 理智 (lesson 6-18).

Learn this in Lesson 152 · HSK 7–9: 离婚冷静期 (The divorce cooling-off period)

A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.