想象 xiǎngxiàng — to imagine, to picture, to envision
xiǎngxiàng (third tone, dipping)xiang3xiang4
to imagine, to picture, to envision
HSK 4· HSK 1–4 (classic)verbnoun
Meanings
to imagine, to picture, to envision
To build a picture in the mind of something not in front of you — a place never visited, a future not yet arrived. It is often softened with 一下 (想象一下, just imagine) or followed by 不到, unimaginable: 想象不到.
verbimagination
noun
Character breakdown
Example sentences
- 你能想象他现在有多高兴吗？你能想象他現在有多高興嗎？Nǐ (third tone, dipping) néng (second tone, rising) xiǎngxiàng (third tone, dipping) tā (first tone, high and level) xiànzài (fourth tone, falling) yǒu (third tone, dipping) duō (first tone, high and level) gāoxìng (first tone, high and level) ma? (neutral tone)···
Can you imagine how happy he is right now?
- 这个地方比我想象的更漂亮。Zhège (fourth tone, falling) dìfang (fourth tone, falling) bǐ (third tone, dipping) wǒ (third tone, dipping) xiǎngxiàng (third tone, dipping) de (neutral tone) gèng (fourth tone, falling) piàoliang. (fourth tone, falling)···
This place is even more beautiful than I imagined.
Common mistakes
Not quite我想象你明天会来。
Correct我想你明天会来。
想象 pictures something concrete in the mind’s eye — a scene, an object, a possibility spelled out. A loose guess about what someone will do just needs 想; 想象 is too heavy a word for an everyday hunch.