📖 Meaning
Describes being in a dazed, befuddled state, as if not fully awake or clear-minded. It conveys a sense of mental fog and confusion, similar to the idiom 如醉如梦 (like drunk, like dreaming).
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Ming dynasty work 《焚书》(Book of Burning) by the philosopher Li Zhi (李贽), specifically in the section 'Reply to Zhou Erlu' (答周二鲁). Li Zhi, a controversial and independent-minded scholar of the late Ming period, wrote that upon encountering a true Confucian, one might be so overwhelmed or disoriented as to be in a dazed dream-like state, which ironically leads to being suspected rather than understood. The phrase uses the imagery of foolishness and dreaming to depict a mind clouded and unable to think clearly.
💡 Example Usage
他整日如痴如梦，连旁人说话都听不进去。
He was in a daze all day, like a fool lost in a dream, not even taking in what others said to him.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 如痴如梦
- Pinyin: rú chī rú mèng
- Literal Translation: like, infatuated, like, dream
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4