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梦乡 (mèng xiāng) — dreamland (the world of dreams); state of being asleep (esp. in 进入梦乡)

Definition

Literary word for 'dreamland' — almost always used in the set phrase 进入梦乡 ('fall asleep'). Unlike plain 睡觉, it carries a soft, poetic tone.

noun
dreamland (the world of dreams)state of being asleep (esp. in 进入梦乡)

Examples

  • 梦乡。
    Tā hěn kuài jiù jìn rù le mèng xiāng.
    He soon fell asleep.
  • 梦乡，。
    Zài mèng xiāng lǐ, tā jiàn dào le duō nián bú jiàn de qīn rén.
    In her dreamland, she saw relatives she hadn't seen for years.
  • ，。
    Hái zi yǐ jīng chén rù mèng xiāng, shuì dé hěn xiāng.
    The child has fallen into dreamland and is sleeping soundly.

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.

梦mèngdream
乡xiāngland

梦 is a dream and 乡 is a land, so the word pictures a land of dreams.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 夢; 梦 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
夕夕xī
Sound part声符shēngfú
瞢
瞢méng夢mèng
Same sound today

The traditional form 夢 pairs 夕 (night) with 瞢, which gives the sound; its older form showed a person lying with an eye emphasized.

Open 梦 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鄉; 乡 is its simplified writing.

  • 𠨍𠨍𠨍two people facing each other
  • 皀皀jía round-mouthed food vessel

The traditional form 鄉 combines two people facing each other with a round-mouthed food vessel, depicting a feast. The village meaning is connected to this feasting event.

Open 乡 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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