镜花水月 in English jing4 hua1 shui3 yue4 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected in the lake (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically an unrealistic rosy view
  • viewing things through rose-tinted spectacles
  • also written 水月鏡花|水月镜花

Simplified Characters

镜 花 水 月

Traditional Characters

鏡 花 水 月

Pinyin

jing4 hua1 shui3 yue4

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

镜jing4mirror 花hua1surname Hua 水shui3surname Shui 月yue4moon