幻境 (huàn jìng) — an illusory realm; dreamland; fantasy world

Definition

幻境 is an 'illusory realm' — a dreamlike or imagined world, often with a literary or philosophical tone (e.g. in Buddhist or fantasy writing). It is more abstract and written than 梦境 (a personal dream at night).

noun
an illusory realmdreamlandfantasy world

Examples

  • 幻境。
    Tā zǒu jìn le yí gè shén mì de huàn jìng.
    He walked into a mysterious illusory realm.
  • 幻境。
    Fó jiào rèn wéi zhè ge shì jiè bú guò shì huàn jìng ér yǐ.
    Buddhism considers this world to be nothing more than an illusory realm.
  • 幻境，。
    Xiǎo shuō lǐ miáo xiě le yí gè měi lì de huàn jìng, ràng rén shén wǎng.
    The novel describes a beautiful dreamland that captivates people.

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.

幻huànillusory
境jìngrealm

幻 gives the illusory, dreamlike quality and 境 a realm, naming a fantasy world.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 幻 →

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
竟
竟jìng境jìng
Same sound today

境 pairs 土 (earth) with 竟, which gives the sound; the 土 part carries the meaning.

Open 境 →

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