People & Bonds
同床異夢
동상이몽
tóng chuáng yì mèng
Dong-sang-i-mong
同
같을 동
床
평상 상
異
다를 이
夢
꿈 몽
Character by character
Meaning
Same bed, different dreams — together in place but not in intent.
Origin
From a Song-era text by Chen Liang, describing agreement that is only on the surface.
How it is used
Used when two sides sign the same document with different intentions.
Hanja同床異夢
Simplified同床异梦
Korean reading동상이몽
Pinyintóng chuáng yì mèng
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does Dong-sang-i-mong mean?
同床異夢 · Same bed, different dreams — together in place but not in intent.
Q. Where does Dong-sang-i-mong come from?
From a Song-era text by Chen Liang, describing agreement that is only on the surface.
Q. How is Dong-sang-i-mong used?
Used when two sides sign the same document with different intentions.
Idioms in the same group
管鮑之交 Gwan-po-ji-gyoThe friendship of Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya — friends who truly know each other.竹馬故友 Juk-ma-go-uAn old friend from bamboo-horse days — someone you grew up with.百年偕老 Baeng-nyeon-hae-roGrowing old together for a hundred years.同苦同樂 Dong-go-dong-nakSharing the hardship and the joy alike.人之常情 In-ji-sang-jeongThe ordinary feeling any human being would have.類類相從 Yu-yu-sang-jongLike follows like — similar people gather together.
The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.