南柯一梦
nán kē yī mèng
an empty dream; glory or riches that vanish like a dream
Character by character
南nán
south
south
柯kē
branch
branch
一yī
one
one
梦mèng
dream
dream
Example
他炒股一个月赚了几十万，正准备买房，股市一跌，全成了南柯一梦。
He made hundreds of thousands on the stock market in a month and was about to buy a flat; then the market fell, and it all vanished like a dream.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
From the Tang tale 《南柯太守传》 by 李公佐: a man dreams that he marries a princess and governs the province of Nanke for twenty years, then wakes to find that the kingdom was an ants’ nest under the old locust tree beside his house, and Nanke a smaller nest on its south branch (南柯). 汤显祖 turned it into 《南柯记》, one of his Four Dreams. Said of fame, money or hopes that prove illusory.
Learn this in Lesson 240 · HSK 9+: 昆曲《牡丹亭》 (Kunqu and The Peony Pavilion)
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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