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如意算盘

如意算盤
rúyìsuànpán
idiom #30,222

Meanings

  1. 1 wishful thinking
  2. 2 a rosy calculation
  3. 3 counting one's chickens before they hatch

Examples

他打的如意算盘落空了。
Tā dǎ de rú yì suàn pán luòkōng le.
His rosy calculations came to nothing.
别总打如意算盘,现实没那么简单。
Bié zǒng dǎ rú yì suàn pán, xiànshí méi nàme jiǎndān.
Stop indulging in wishful thinking — reality isn't that simple.
这只是他的如意算盘,未必能实现。
Zhè zhǐ shì tā de rú yì suàn pán, wèibì néng shíxiàn.
This is just his pipe dream — it may not come true.

Tips

history
From 李宝嘉's 《官场现形记》 (late Qing satirical novel): '好便宜!你倒会打如意算盘!' ('How convenient — you sure know how to cook up a wishful calculation!'). The word 算盘 ('abacus') is the literal tool; 如意 ('as one wishes') makes it a calculation rigged in your own favor.
grammar
The verb 打 (to beat/strike) is required: 打如意算盘, never 做如意算盘 or 算如意算盘. 'Beating the abacus' is the set collocation for doing calculations.

Stroke Order

如 rú
意 yì
算 suàn
盘 pán