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胡思乱想 (hú sī luàn xiǎng) — to let one's imagination run wild; to engage in groundless or irrational thinking

Definition

胡思乱想 is anxious or idle overthinking — letting worries or guesses run wild with no basis. Unlike 异想天开 (a fanciful, often ambitious unrealistic idea), this phrase focuses on the scattered, groundless mental activity itself.

phrase
to let one's imagination run wildto engage in groundless or irrational thinking

Examples

  • 胡思乱想，，。
    Bié hú sī luàn xiǎng le, tā zhǐ shì zài kāi huì, bú shì bù lǐ nǐ.
    Stop imagining things; he's just in a meeting, not ignoring you.
  • 胡思乱想，。
    Nǐ zhěng tiān hú sī luàn xiǎng, bù rú xiān bǎ jīn tiān jiù kāi shǐ xíng dòng.
    You're daydreaming all day; you might as well start taking action today.
  • 胡思乱想，。
    Kǎo shì qián róng yì hú sī luàn xiǎng, qí shí hǎo hǎo fù xí jiù néng ān xīn.
    Before exams it's easy to let your worries run wild, but actually if you study well you can feel at ease.

Origin

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
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ胡hú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

胡 combines 古, which points to its sound, with ⺼ (肉), meaning meat or flesh.

Open 胡 →

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
囟
囟xìn思sī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 思, 心 (heart) points to thinking, while the top part is a changed form of 囟, which supplied the sound.

Open 思 →

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 亂; 乱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乚Written in full as乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
𤔔
𤔔𤔔亂luàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 亂 contains 𤔔, a drawing of combing tangled threads, and 乙; the simplified 乱 is only a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 乱 →

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 7-9Idioms & Set PhrasesThinking & Cognition

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.