异想天开

異想天開

yìxiǎngtiānkāi

idiom HSK 7 #16,356

Meanings

1 to have a fantastic idea
2 to indulge in fantasy
3 wishful thinking

Characters

strange; extraordinary

Literally 'strange thoughts open the sky' — wildly unrealistic ideas

Examples

你想一夜暴富？简直是异想天开！

Nǐ xiǎng yīyè bàofù? Jiǎnzhí shì yìxiǎngtiānkāi!

You want to get rich overnight? That's pure fantasy!

别异想天开了，脚踏实地吧。

Bié yìxiǎngtiānkāi le, jiǎotàshídì ba.

Stop daydreaming and be realistic.

Tips

usage

异想天开 is usually negative, implying someone's ideas are unrealistic or ridiculous. Occasionally used more neutrally to mean 'thinking outside the box'.

memory

Strange (异) thoughts (想) that could open (开) the sky (天) — ideas so wild they'd crack open the heavens.

Stroke Order

异 yì

想 xiǎng

天 tiān

开 kāi