A dream can be a nighttime experience or a goal for the future. Meet both uses of 夢 in complete sentences.

The idea

夢 has 13 strokes; use the linked diagram for their order. Read 夢 as ゆめ and 夢中 as むちゅう: learn the reading with the whole word. 夢を見る means to have a dream; 夢がかなう means a dream comes true.

Patterns to compare
WordReadingExample in context
夢ゆめI had a strange dream last night.
夢中むちゅうThe child is absorbed in a book.

Examples

  • 昨夜さくや変へんな夢ゆめを見みました。I had a strange dream last night.
  • 私わたしの夢ゆめは医者いしゃになることです。My dream is to become a doctor.
  • 彼女かのじょの夢ゆめがかないました。Her dream came true.
  • 子こどもは本ほんに夢中むちゅうです。The child is absorbed in a book.
  • 友達ともだちに夢ゆめの話はなしをしました。I told my friend about my dream.
  • いつか海外かいがいへ旅行りょこうしたいです。それが私わたしの夢ゆめです。I want to travel abroad someday. That is my dream.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

夢中 means absorbed in something, not simply having a dream. The reading む belongs to the compound 夢中; do not apply it automatically to 夢 on its own.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 夢 in hiragana.

    Show answer or example answer

    ゆめ

    夢 is read ゆめ. 夢を見る describes having a dream while asleep.

  2. Write the reading of 夢中 in hiragana.

    Show answer or example answer

    むちゅう

    夢中 is read むちゅう. 夢中になる means to become absorbed in something.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 本に＿中です。［夢／夜］

    Show answer or example answer

    夢

    夢 completes 夢中, read むちゅう; the sentence describes being absorbed in a book.

Use it today

Write 夢 using the stroke diagram. Cover the table, read both words, and make a sentence about a dream or an aspiration.