幻想 (huàn xiǎng) — (noun) fantasy, illusion, delusion; (verb) to f… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

幻想 is a wishful fantasy or daydream — typically about the future, more grounded than 妄想 (delusional self-deception) and more deliberate than 做梦 (literal dreams). Often implies the ideas are unrealistic but tempting.

noun

fantasyillusiondelusion

verb

to fantasizeto daydream

Examples

幻想。
Tā de huàn xiǎng biàn chéng le xiàn shí.
His fantasy became reality.
幻想。
Tā xǐ huan huàn xiǎng wèi lái de shēng huó.
She likes to fantasize about future life.
幻想。
Bié huó zài huàn xiǎng lǐ.
Don't live in a fantasy.

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

想xiǎngthought

'幻' (illusory) and '想' (thought) combine as an imagined picture or daydream.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

相心想

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.

Appears in

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