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夢寐以求

简梦寐以求 · 繁夢寐以求

Mandarin · pinyin mèng mèi yǐ qiú

(lit.) to yearn for sth even in one's dreams (idiom)
(fig.) to deeply long for; to covet

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Characters in this entry

夢: Look up this written character
寐: mèi · sleep; be asleep
以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
求: qiú · seek; demand, request; beseech
梦: mèng · dream; visionary; wishful

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4–3–2 · meng4 mei4 yi3 qiu2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

夢寐以求 · find source passages ↗ · 梦寐以求 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

mung6 mei6 ji5 kau4

Cantonese word readings for 夢寐以求. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to desire strongly; to crave; to long for

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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