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一厢情愿 (yī xiāng qíng yuàn) — wishful thinking; one-sided wish (often implying unrealistic expectation or unreciprocated hope)

Definition

A set expression meaning 'wishful thinking' — one side's hope that the other side doesn't share. Implies the expectation is unrealistic or one-sided.

verb
wishful thinkingone-sided wish (often implying unrealistic expectation or unreciprocated hope)

Examples

  • 一厢情愿。
    Nǐ zhè yàng xiǎng tài yī xiāng qíng yuàn le.
    It's wishful thinking for you to think that way.
  • 一厢情愿，。
    Tā yī xiāng qíng yuàn, yǐ wéi dǎ gè diàn huà jiù néng jiě jué wèn tí.
    He's being wishful thinking, thinking a phone call could solve the problem.
  • 一厢情愿，。
    Bié yī xiāng qíng yuàn le, duì fāng gēn běn méi xìng qù.
    Stop wishful thinking; the other party has no interest at all.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

一厢one side
一yīone厢xiāngside
偏正Modifier + head
情愿willingness
情qíngfeeling愿yuànwish
联合Coordinate

一厢 (one side) and 情愿 (willing) describe only one side being willing.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 厢 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng情qíng
Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.

Open 情 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
原
原yuán愿yuàn
Same sound today

愿 places 心 (heart) below 原, which supplies the sound yuán; the 心 part marks the sense of heart or feeling.

Open 愿 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsIdioms & Set Phrases

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