空中楼阁 (kōng zhōng lóu gé) — castle in the air; unrealistic plan or vain hope

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'castle in the air' — a fanciful plan or idea that has no grounding in reality. Used to dismiss impractical schemes, not to describe literal fantasy.

noun
castle in the airunrealistic plan or vain hope

Examples

  • ，空中楼阁。
    Tā de jì huà suī rán tīng qǐ lái hěn hǎo, dàn qí shí jiù shì kōng zhōng lóu gé.
    His plan sounds great, but it's actually a castle in the air.
  • 空中楼阁，。
    Bú yào zhuī qiú nà xiē kōng zhōng lóu gé bān de mèng xiǎng, xiàn shí yì diǎn ba.
    Don't pursue those castle-in-the-air dreams; be more realistic.
  • 空中楼阁。
    Yí gè méi yǒu zī jīn de chuàng yè jì huà zhǐ shì kōng zhōng lóu gé.
    A startup plan without funding is just a castle in the air.

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.

空中in the air
空kōngair/space中zhōngmiddle
偏正Modifier + head
楼阁towers and pavilions
楼lóutower阁gépavilion
联合Side by side

空中 (in the air) plus 楼阁 (towers and pavilions) paints a castle built in the air.

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
穴穴xuécave, hole
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng空kōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

空 is built from 穴, a cave or hole, and 工, which gives the sound.

Open 空 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

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 樓; 楼 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
婁
婁lóu樓lóu
Same sound today

The traditional form 樓 pairs 木 (tree) with 婁 as its sound part; the simplified 楼 is a later shorthand.

Open 楼 →

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 閣; 阁 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
門門méngate
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè閣gé
Same sound today

The traditional form 閣 pairs 門 (gate) with 各, which gives the pronunciation; this note is about 閣, not the simplified 阁.

Open 阁 →

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