遐想 (xiá xiǎng) — to daydream, to be lost in reverie; reverie, da… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A literary word for 'reverie' or 'to daydream' — the mind wandering far. More formal and poetic than everyday 想象 or 做白日梦.

to daydreamto be lost in reveriereveriedaydream

Examples

遐想。
Tā cháng cháng zuò zài chuāng biān xiá xiǎng.
He often sits by the window daydreaming.
遐想。
Tā de xiá xiǎng xiàng fēng zheng yí yàng fēi dé hěn yuǎn.
His reverie flew far away like a kite.
，遐想。
Bú yào dǎ rǎo tā, tā zhèng zài xiá xiǎng.
Don't disturb him, he is daydreaming.

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.

遐xiáfaraway

想xiǎngthought

遐 means faraway and 想 means thought, so the sense is a distant, wandering thought.

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

Thinking & Cognition

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