Chinese idiom · 成语
一厢情愿
Meaning
One-sided wishful thinking; unreciprocated hope.
Character by character
Origin and story
Colloquial literary usageThis expression treats a wish as belonging to only one side of an interaction. It is also written 一相情愿. The Ministry of Education dictionary cites the latter form in chapter 10 of Ernü Yingxiong Zhuan (兒女英雄傳), where the text speaks of preserving the face of a matchmaker whose intentions are one-sided.
That attestation illustrates the expression's social logic without establishing its first coinage. A person may plan enthusiastically without checking whether the other party wants the same thing. The phrase can apply to romance, cooperation, or any proposal resting on imagined agreement. It criticizes the unsupported assumption of consent or feasibility, rather than hope itself.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
我们还没问过她，就替她安排旅行，恐怕是一厢情愿。
Planning a trip for her before even asking may just be wishful thinking on our part.
For plans based only on one's own wishes, without the other party's agreement.