How to say "dream" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 夢ゆめnounThe everyday noun for a dream, whether the images you see while asleep or a hope you hold for the future. When you simply want to say 'dream', this is the word.
- nounThe loanword, which you meet mainly in names, titles, and slogans rather than in ordinary sentences. For talking about a dream in normal speech or writing, 夢 is the word you want.
- 夢見るゆめみるichidan verb, transitive verbThe verb 'to dream (of)': to see dreams or to dream of something hoped for or imagined. Choose it when you need the action as a verb rather than the noun 夢.
- 夢想むそうnoun, suru verb, transitive verbThis noun frames a dream as a vision or reverie — something conjured in the mind — rather than the dream you have while asleep, so it is not the everyday word for last night's dream.
- 幻想げんそうnoun, suru verb, transitive verbIts main senses are fantasy and illusion, with 'dream' only as a marginal shade of an unreal vision. For an ordinary dream it is seldom the word you want.
Use 夢 for dreams and aspirations, 「夢見る」 for the verb 'to dream (of)', 「ドリーム」 mainly in names and titles, 夢想 for reverie-like dreaming, and 幻想 only when the sense shades into fantasy or illusion.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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