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做梦 (zuò mèng) — to dream (while sleeping); (figurative) to have a pipe dream, to fantasize

Definition

做 is the verb 'to do/make'; with 梦 it forms the common 'to dream' — both the literal sleep dream and the figurative 'to fantasize'. For the aspiration sense, 梦想 is the dedicated word.

verb
to dream (while sleeping)(figurative) to have a pipe dreamto fantasize

Examples

  • 做梦。
    Wǒ zuó tiān zuò le yí gè qí guài de zuò mèng.
    I had a strange dream yesterday.
  • 做梦，。
    Nǐ bié zuò mèng le, zhè jiàn shì bù kě néng chéng gōng.
    Stop dreaming — this thing can't succeed.
  • 做梦。
    Tā xiǎo shí hou jīng cháng zuò mèng dāng míng xīng.
    When she was little, she often dreamed of becoming a star.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

做zuòmake
梦mèngdream

做 (make) + 梦 (dream) describes making a dream, i.e. dreaming.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 做 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 夢; 梦 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
夕夕xī
Sound part声符shēngfú
瞢
瞢méng夢mèng
Same sound today

The traditional form 夢 pairs 夕 (night) with 瞢, which gives the sound; its older form showed a person lying with an eye emphasized.

Open 梦 →
Appears in
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