大夢

Chinese

		big; great; huge big; great; huge; large; major; wide; deep; oldest; eldest; doctor	to dream
trad. (大夢)		大	夢
simp. (大梦)		大	梦

Etymology

From Zhuangzi：

夢之中又占其夢焉，覺而後知其夢也。且有大覺而後知此其大夢也，而愚者自以爲覺，竊竊然知之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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梦之中又占其梦焉，觉而后知其梦也。且有大觉而后知此其大梦也，而愚者自以为觉，窃窃然知之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Zhuangzi, circa 3^rd – 2^nd centuries BCE

Mèng zhīzhōng yòu zhàn qí mèng yān, jué ér hòu zhī qí mèng yě. Qiě yǒu dàjué ér hòu zhī cǐ qí dàmèng yě, ér yúzhě zì yǐwéi jué, qièqiè rán zhī zhī. [Pinyin]

Some will even interpret the very dream they are dreaming; and only when they awake do they know it was a dream. By and by comes the Great Awakening, and then we find out that this life is really a great dream. Fools think they are awake now, and flatter themselves they know if they are really princes or peasants

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): dàmèng

  (Zhuyin): ㄉㄚˋ ㄇㄥˋ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: dàmèng
    • Zhuyin: ㄉㄚˋ ㄇㄥˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: dàmèng
    • Wade–Giles: ta⁴-mêng⁴
    • Yale: dà-mèng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: dahmenq
    • Palladius: дамэн (damɛn)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tä⁵¹⁻⁵³ mɤŋ⁵¹/

Noun

大夢

1. (figurative) an illusory life

   • 處世若大夢，胡為勞其生。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     处世若大梦，胡为劳其生。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Li Bai, Waking from Drunkenness on a Spring Day

     Chǔshì ruò dàmèng, húwèi láo qí shēng. [Pinyin]

     Life in the World is but a big dream; I will not spoil it by any labour or care.

   • 大夢行當覺，百年特未滿。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     大梦行当觉，百年特未满。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 宋．蘇軾《李憲仲哀詞》

     Dàmèng xíng dāng jué, bǎinián tè wèimǎn. [Pinyin]

     When I woke up from the dream, a hundred years had not yet completely passed.

References

• “Entry #40602”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.