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妄想 (wàng xiǎng) — (verb) to vainly hope or attempt; to delude oneself; (noun) a delusion; a vain hope or unrealistic belief

Definition

妄想 (wàngxiǎng) emphasizes a self-deceiving, baseless belief — often with a sense of self-deception. 幻想 is closer to 'fantasy/dream' (can be creative), 空想 is idle 'wishful thinking' with no basis.

verb
to vainly hope or attemptto delude oneself
noun
a delusiona vain hope or unrealistic belief

Examples

  • 妄想。
    Tā zǒng wàng xiǎng zì jǐ néng yí yè chéng míng.
    He always vainly hopes he can become famous overnight.
  • 妄想。
    Zhè zhǒng wàng xiǎng ràng tā wú fǎ miàn duì xiàn shí.
    This delusion prevents him from facing reality.
  • 妄想。
    Tā de suǒ wèi jì huà bú guò shì yí gè wàng xiǎng ér yǐ.
    His so-called plan is nothing but a vain hope.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

妄wànggroundless
想xiǎngthink or hope

妄想 joins 妄 meaning groundless with 想 meaning think or hope, giving a vain hope or delusion.

Characters in this word

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
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
亡
亡wáng妄wàng
Same sound today

妄 combines 亡, which supplies the sound, with 女, a woman.

Open 妄 →

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, mind
Sound part声符shēngfú
相
相xiāng想xiǎng
Same sound today

想 has 心 (heart, mind) below 相 (to look at); the shape shows the mind looking at or considering something, and 相 also gives the sound.

Open 想 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Mental Health5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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