幻影 huànyǐng phantom
phantom; mirage
How to remember 幻影: 幻 illusion + 影 shadows = phantom.
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How it is used
- A phantom / illusory image - something that looks real but isn't there - 沙漠中的幻影 (shāmò zhōng de huànyǐng) a mirage in the desert.
- Emphasizes a visual apparition; often literary or poetic for fleeting, unreal things.
- Contrast 幻觉 (huànjué), which is the perceptual experience/hallucination in the mind; 幻影 is the illusory image itself.