Chinese word

异想天开

Pronunciation

Pinyinyì xiǎng tiān kāi

Meaning

  • idiomfar-fetched

Example

这些计划听起来有点异想天开，不太可行。zhè xiē jì huà tīng qǐ lái yóu diǎn yì xiǎng tiān kāi bú tài kě xíng

These plans sound a little far-fetched and not very feasible.

Illustration for 异想天开 (far-fetched)

More examples

他的创意听起来异想天开，但有一定的新意。tā de chuàng yì tīng qǐ lái yì xiǎng tiān kāi dàn yǒu yí dìng de xīn yì

His creative idea sounds far-fetched, but it has some originality.

Core concept

A mind opens onto a vivid possibility that ordinary reality cannot easily support.

Common phrases

  • 异想天开的想法yì xiǎng tiān kāi de xiáng fǎ

    far-fetched idea

  • 异想天开的计划yì xiǎng tiān kāi de jì huà

    far-fetched plan

Similar words

天马行空tiān mǎ xíng kōng: Describes imagination or expression that is free from fixed patterns and highly original.
想入非非xiǎng rù fēi fēi: Describes filling the mind with groundless fantasies and unrealistic ideas.
无稽之谈wú jī zhī tán: Describes a groundless, absurd claim or story that is hard to believe.
荒诞不经huāng dàn bù jīng: Describes something detached from reality and logic, making it highly unreasonable.

Definition in Chinese

形容想法出人意料且奇特，往往难以实现，语气可带批评或调侃。xíng róng xiáng fǎ chū rén yì liào qiě qí tè wáng wǎng nán yǐ shí xiàn yǔ qì kě dài pī píng huò tiáo kǎn

Word origin

The idiom joins 异 (yì, "different") and 想 (xiǎng, "thought") with 天 (tiān, "sky") and 开 (kāi, "open"), depicting an unusual idea as a sudden opening in the sky.

Usage tips

  • English speakers may hear imaginative as clear praise, but this idiom often adds doubt about whether the idea can work, so the speaker's tone matters.

Other meanings

  • wildly imaginativeidiom
  • fancifulidiom

Opposites

Word lists with this word