妄想
wàng xiǎng · HSK 7
delusion
💭 妄 reckless/false + 想 think = false thinking = a delusion or vain attempt
妄 means rash or false, and 想 means to think; thinking built on nothing real becomes a delusion or a vain hope. The 女 under 亡 in 妄 hints at something gone astray or lost.
想 — heart 心 + 相 (xiāng, phonetic)
想 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The heart radical 心 at the bottom carries the meaning, since classical Chinese located thought and feeling in the heart. The top component 相 (xiāng) supplies the sound, and over time the character settled into the senses 'to think,' 'to want,' and 'to miss.'