# 胡思乱想

hú sī luàn xiǎng

Let thoughts wander into unfounded possibilities

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Think recklessly and imagine wildly

**Traditional Chinese:** 胡思亂想

**Register:** Standard · expressive

[Perspective](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/perspective)

## When to use it

Describe anxious speculation or uncontrolled daydreaming.

Creativity is not necessarily unfounded worry.

## Understanding the expression

Thoughts move without a reliable connection to evidence or the task at hand. The expression often describes worrying about imagined explanations, especially when a message goes unanswered or an outcome is uncertain. It can also mean idle fantasy. The issue is not imagination itself, which can be useful, but its ungrounded direction. Checking facts or naming the actual uncertainty can help distinguish a real concern from possibilities that exist only in the mind.

## Examples

她没回信，他开始胡思乱想。

### Traditional Chinese

她沒回信，他開始胡思亂想。

tā méi huí xìn ， tā kāi shǐ hú sī luàn xiǎng 。

When she did not reply, he began imagining all sorts of things.

别胡思乱想，先问清楚。

### Traditional Chinese

別胡思亂想，先問清楚。

bié hú sī luàn xiǎng ， xiān wèn qīng chǔ 。

Do not speculate wildly; ask for clarification first.

睡前胡思乱想，让她难以入睡。

### Traditional Chinese

睡前胡思亂想，讓她難以入睡。

shuì qián hú sī luàn xiǎng ， ràng tā nán yǐ rù shuì 。

Uncontrolled thoughts before bed made sleep difficult.

他把猜测当事实，越想越胡思乱想。

### Traditional Chinese

他把猜測當事實，越想越胡思亂想。

tā bǎ cāi cè dāng shì shí ， yuè xiǎng yuè hú sī luàn xiǎng 。

He treated guesses as facts and became increasingly lost in unfounded thoughts.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E8%83%A1%E6%80%9D%E4%BA%82%E6%83%B3)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=884&webMd=1&la=0)

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