Chinese word

空想

Pronunciation

Pinyinkōng xiǎng

Meaning

  • verbfantasize

Example

别再空想了，开始工作吧。bié zài kōng xiǎng le kāi shǐ gōng zuò ba

Stop fantasizing and start working.

Illustration for 空想 (fantasize)

More examples

他在无聊的时候喜欢独自空想未来的生活。tā zài wú liáo de shí hòu xǐ huān dú zì kōng xiǎng wèi lái de shēng huó

When he is bored, he likes to fantasize alone about his future life.

Core concept

Builds imagined scenes or ideas in the mind without a firm foothold in reality.

Common phrases

  • 喜欢空想xǐ huān kōng xiǎng

    like fantasizing

  • 偶尔空想未来óu ěr kōng xiǎng wèi lái

    occasionally fantasize about the future

Similar words

想象xiǎng xiàng: Imagine the form or details of something in the mind.
做白日梦zuò bái rì mèng: Spend time awake imagining pleasant or dreamlike events far from reality.
幻想huàn xiǎng: Imagine a desired situation or idea even though it is unlikely to come true.

Definition in Chinese

在心里凭想象构造没有现实根据的情景或想法。zài xīn lǐ píng xiǎng xiàng gòu zào méi yǒu xiàn shí gēn jù de qíng jǐng huò xiáng fǎ

Word origin

空 (kōng, "empty") + 想 (xiǎng, "think or imagine") presents imagining as something empty of real-world support.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, this verb often sounds mildly dismissive, so it can describe pleasant daydreaming but also suggest that an idea is not practical.

Other meanings

  • daydreamnoun
  • fantasynoun
  • delusionnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 空想者kōng xiǎng zhěfantasistnoun

Word lists with this word