镜花水月
jìng huā shuǐ yuè
flowers in a mirror, the moon in the water; an illusion, something you can see but never hold
Character by character
镜jìng
mirror
mirror
花huā
flower
flower
水shuǐ
water
water
月yuè
moon
moon
Example
只靠买彩票发财的梦想，到头来不过是镜花水月。
The dream of getting rich from lottery tickets alone turns out in the end to be nothing but an illusion.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Buddhist imagery for the emptiness of appearances. Often 不过是／只是镜花水月, of hopes, plans or loves that cannot come true.
Learn this in Lesson 223 · HSK 9+: 张爱玲：红玫瑰与白玫瑰 (Eileen Chang: red rose, white rose)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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