Definition

1. Verb:
   • To dream, to see in a dream: Refers to the act of experiencing images, stories, or sensations in the mind during sleep.
   • To have a dream (about something/someone): To see a specific subject or event in a dream.

Usage

• Chiêm bao is a Sino-Vietnamese word (from 占卜, meaning "to divine") and is used in a more literary or formal context than the more common word "mơ". It often implies a dream that feels significant or prophetic.
• It can function as both a verb and, less commonly, as a noun (as seen in the compound "giấc chiêm bao").

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Đêm qua tôi chiêm bao thấy một giấc mơ rất kỳ lạ. (Last night, I dreamed a very strange dream.)
  • Bà tôi thường nói chiêm bao thấy ông là điềm lành. (My grandmother often says that dreaming of my grandfather is a good omen.)
  • Anh ấy chiêm bao thấy mình đang bay. (He dreamed that he was flying.)

Advanced Usage

• "Giấc chiêm bao": A dream (as a noun phrase). This is the most common way to use "chiêm bao" as a noun.
  • Giấc chiêm bao đêm qua khiến tôi bối rối cả ngày. (Last night's dream left me confused all day.)
• "Mộng chiêm bao": A poetic or literary synonym for "giấc chiêm bao".
  • Những mộng chiêm bao tuổi trẻ. (The dreams of youth.)

Variants and Related Words

• Mơ (verb): The standard, everyday Vietnamese word for "to dream".
  • Tôi mơ thấy bạn. (I dreamed of you.)
• Giấc mơ (noun): The standard noun for "a dream".
  • Theo đuổi giấc mơ. (To pursue a dream.)
• Ác mộng (noun): Nightmare.
  • Thức dậy sau một cơn ác mộng. (To wake up from a nightmare.)

Synonyms

• Nằm mơ: To dream (while lying down/sleeping).
• Mộng thấy: To see in a dream (literary).

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Chiêm bao thấy vàng, giật mình tỉnh giấc": To dream of gold and wake up with a start. This idiom highlights the illusory or fleeting nature of dreams and, by extension, unrealistic hopes.
  • Đừng ảo tưởng, đừng để như chiêm bao thấy vàng, giật mình tỉnh giấc. (Don't fantasize, don't be like dreaming of gold and waking up startled.)
• "Đẹp như trong giấc chiêm bao": As beautiful as in a dream.
  • Cảnh tượng ấy đẹp như trong giấc chiêm bao. (That scene was as beautiful as in a dream.)

verb

1. To dream, to see in a dream
   • giấc chiêm bao
     a dream