白日梦 (bái rì mèng) — daydream; fantasy; pipe dream | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A 白日梦 is a fantasy or pipe dream — an unrealistic wish, not just a brief daydream. Usually carries a negative tone, implying the idea is impossible or foolish.

noun

daydreamfantasypipe dream

Examples

白日梦，。
Bié zuò bái rì mèng le, hái shì miàn duì xiàn shí ba.
Stop daydreaming and face reality.
，白日梦。
Tā xiǎng yí yè bào fù, nà bú guò shì bái rì mèng.
He wants to get rich overnight — that's just a pipe dream.
白日梦，。
Zhè ge jì huà tīng qǐ lái xiàng bái rì mèng, gēn běn bú xiàn shí.
This plan sounds like a daydream; it's totally unrealistic.

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.

白日daytime

白báiwhite日rìday

偏正Modifier + head

白日 suggests daytime, and 梦 means dream, denoting a daytime dream.

Characters in this word

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

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

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

日 originally drew the sun. A mark was added inside to tell it apart from similar square shapes.

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

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.

Appears in

Thinking & Cognition

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