一厢情愿

一廂情願

yīxiāngqíngyuàn

idiom #16,774

Meanings

Literally 'one-side-feeling-wish' — feelings coming from only one side.

Nǐ juéde tā xǐhuan nǐ? Nà zhǐshì nǐ yīxiāngqíngyuàn.

You think she likes you? That's just your own wishful thinking.

Hézuò xūyào shuāngfāng tóngyì, bù néng yīxiāngqíngyuàn.

Cooperation requires both sides to agree — you can't just wish it into existence.

memory

Picture someone standing in one wing (一厢) of a building, wishing (情愿) for love from the other wing — but nobody's there. One-sided wishful thinking.

一 yī

厢 xiāng

情 qíng

愿 yuàn