Definition

1. Verb:

   • To imagine; to visualize; to picture: To form a mental image or concept of something that is not physically present or that one has not directly experienced.
   • To conceive; to envisage: To form an idea or understanding of something in the mind.

2. Noun (Less common):

   • Appearance; looks; outward form: The visual aspect or physical form of a person or thing.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Bạn có thể hình dung khung cảnh đó không? (Can you imagine that scene?)
  • Tôi không thể hình dung được cuộc sống thiếu anh ấy. (I cannot picture life without him.)
  • Hãy thử hình dung một tương lai tươi sáng hơn. (Try to envisage a brighter future.)

• Noun:

  • Hình dung của anh ấy rất phong trần. (His appearance is very weathered.)
  • Cô ấy có hình dung ưa nhìn. (She has a pleasant appearance.)

Advanced Usage

• Used to request or describe the act of mental projection, often about future scenarios, abstract concepts, or past events not witnessed.
  • Phần mềm này giúp hình dung lại kiến trúc cổ. (This software helps visualize the ancient architecture.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tưởng tượng (v): To imagine, often with a stronger connotation of fantasy or invention.
• Mường tượng (v): To vaguely imagine or conceive.

Synonyms

• Visualize: To form a mental image.
• Envision: To picture mentally, especially a future possibility.
• Conceive: To form an idea or mental picture.

Related Idioms

• Không thể hình dung nổi: Unimaginable; beyond one's ability to conceive.
  • Sự hỗn loạn ở đó không thể hình dung nổi. (The chaos there is unimaginable.)

noun

1. appearance

verb

1. to figure; to imagine