yì xiǎng tiān kāidictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(idiom) to imagine the wildest thing / to indulge in fantasy
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-ee8f16034153e540. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

異想天開 异想天开 [yi4 xiang3 tian1 kai1] /(idiom) to imagine the wildest thing; to indulge in fantasy/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 異想天開

  • 异
    yì

    different / other / hetero- / unusual / strange / surprising / to distinguish / to separate / to discriminate

  • 想
    xiǎng

    to think (about) / to think of / to devise / to think (that) / to believe (that) / to desire / to want (to) / to miss (feel wistful about the absence of)

  • 天
    tiān

    day / sky / heaven

  • 开
    kāi

    to open (transitive or intransitive) / (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start / to turn on / to put in operation / to operate / to run / to boil / to write out (a prescription, check, invoice etc) / (directional complement) away / off / carat (gold) / abbr. for Kelvin, 開爾文|开尔文[Kāi ěr wén] / abbr. for 開本|开本[kāi běn], book format

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.