Write “梦”(dream) in Chinese character

One character a day, easy to master Chinese characters. Let’s take a look at the basic knowledge of “梦”.

“梦” (meng, dream) is an associative and pictophonetic character. In the oracle bone inscriptions, the right part of “梦” looks like a standing bed and the left part a man on the bed who is sleeping with his hands on the head. The pose is associated with dreams people have while sleeping. When the Chinese writing evolved into the form of the small seal script, the character was simplified and added with another character “夕” (xi, night), which was meant to suggest dreams occurred in the night. In the case of the regular script, no changes are observed in the structure, while in terms of simplified Chinese, it becomes the present easy-to-write character “梦”.

People are not sober while dreaming, so “做梦” (zuomeng, to dream) is extended to mean “something illusionary”; “梦呓” (mengyi) does not only refer to the act or habit of talking in one’s sleep, but also absurd remarks. As early as the ancient times, the Chinese had been studying on dreams. According to the traditional Chinese medicine theory, the occurrence of dreams can be due to the uneasy sleep caused by physical reasons. Psychological reasons can also cause dreaming, therefore there is the saying of “You will dream at night about what you have been mediated over during the daytime”.

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