夢中|むちゅうmuchuu[0]heiban (flat)

1. na-adjective, no-adjectiveabsorbed in; immersed in; crazy about; obsessed with; devoted to
2. noun, na-adjectiveforgetting oneself; daze; trance; ecstasy; delirium
   私は、うれしくて夢中むちゅうだった。↗

   I was beside myself with joy.
3. nounwithin a dream; while dreaming

• Synonym無我夢中むがむちゅうNeutralDescribes throwing yourself into something so completely you forget yourself; often used for desperate efforts in emergencies, as in 「無我夢中で逃げた」.
• Synonym専念せんねんNeutralMeans devoting yourself exclusively to something, as in 「治療に専念する」; stresses setting other things aside.
• Synonym一心いっしんNeutralMeans single-minded devotion, mostly in the pattern 「～したい一心で」; highlights an intense desire.
• Synonym没頭ぼっとうNeutralMeans burying yourself in work or research, as in 「研究に没頭する」; leans toward written prose.
• SynonymひたすらWrittenA kanji spelling of 「ひたすら」, common from the Meiji era to before the war; today usually written in kana. Means doing only one thing single-mindedly.
• Synonym熱中ねっちゅうNeutralMeans being enthusiastic about hobbies or activities, as in 「ゲームに熱中する」; close to 「夢中」 but with more of a sense of active engagement.
• Related一心不乱いっしんふらんWrittenA four-character compound for single-minded focus undisturbed by anything else; leans toward written or formal prose.
• Related集中しゅうちゅうNeutralMeans consciously focusing attention, as in 「勉強に集中する」; 「夢中」 carries the nuance of being so absorbed you forget everything else.
• Related専心せんしんWrittenA written, formal word for concentrating one's mind on a single pursuit.
• Related傾注けいちゅうWrittenMeans pouring energy into something, as in 「全力を傾注する」; formal.
• Related没入ぼつにゅうWrittenMeans being fully immersed, as in 「作品世界に没入する」; leans toward written prose.
• Antonym冷静れいせいNeutralMeans calm and composed; the opposite of the absorbed, self-forgetting state of 「夢中」.

Use 「夢中」 for being crazy about or absorbed in something; it is common in speech as 「～に夢中」. For enthusiasm for hobbies pick 「熱中」, for burying yourself in work 「没頭」, for devoting yourself exclusively 「専念」, and for deliberate concentration 「集中」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 一ひとつのことに心こころを奪うばわれ、他たのことを忘わすれる様子ようす。熱中ねっちゅう。没頭ぼっとう。
2. 夢ゆめの中なか。
3. （やや古いにしえ）意識いしきを失うしなうこと。
4. 知しらないこと。