想像 (xiǎng xiàng) — to imagine, to envision | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

verb

to imagineto envision

Examples

想像。
Wǒ wú fǎ xiǎng xiàng tā dāng shí de xīn qíng.
I can't imagine how he felt at that time.
想像？
Nǐ néng xiǎng xiàng shí nián hòu de shēng huó huì shì shén me yàng zi ma?
Can you imagine what life will be like in ten years?
想像。
Tā cháng cháng xiǎng xiàng zì jǐ yǒu yì tiān néng qù hěn duō dì fāng.
She often imagines that one day she can go to many places.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

想 (think) and 像 (image) combine as thinking an image, giving imagine.

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.

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.

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

亻象像

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

象

Same sound today

像 uses 亻, the side form of 人 (person), with 象 giving the sound.

Appears in

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