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妄想 (もうそう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Common word Freq. Frequency Top 5,000 Conjugation Meanings 1
noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', transitive verb
delusion ; wild fantasy ; ridiculous idea
Refers to a belief or idea that is firmly held despite being unrealistic or unsupported by evidence. Often used in psychological contexts (e.g., 妄想性障害) but also in everyday speech for far-fetched notions.
That's just a wild fantasy.
Kanji 妄 delusion, unnecessarily, without authority 想 idea, thought, conception Similar words 幻げん 想そう 幻想 (illusion/fantasy) often implies a more dreamlike or poetic unreality, while 妄想 (delusion) carries a stronger sense of irrational belief, sometimes pathological.
錯さっ 覚かく 錯覚 (optical illusion/misperception) is a sensory misinterpretation of a real stimulus, whereas 妄想 is a false belief not based on external reality.
Etymology Composed of 妄 (もう, 'reckless, deluded') and 想 (そう, 'thought, idea'). The kanji combination directly conveys 'deluded thought'.
