心想事成

• Pinyin: xīn xiǎng shì chéng
• Hanzi breakdown: 心 = heart; 想 = 木 + 目 + 心 (heart yearning through sight); 事 = affairs/matters; 成 = 戊 + 丁 (coming to completion)

Meaning

May all your wishes come true; everything goes as one hopes. A blessing expressing that what the heart desires will be achieved.

Common in festival greetings, wedding speeches, and toasts. One of the classic Chinese four-character blessings alongside 万事如意 and 吉祥如意.

Examples

1. 新年到来之际，祝大家心想事成，万事顺意。 As the new year arrives, I wish everyone’s dreams come true and everything goes smoothly.
2. 只要努力坚持，心想事成并非遥不可及。 As long as you keep working and don’t give up, it’s not out of reach for your wishes to come true.
3. 婚礼上，亲友们纷纷送上心想事成的美好祝愿。 At the wedding, friends and relatives offered their best wishes, saying, “May all your wishes come true.”

Usage Guide

Context: festivals, celebrations, greetings, toasts

Tone: warm

Do Say

• 在新婚宴席上，长辈们举杯祝福一对新人心想事成，白头偕老。(At the wedding banquet, the elders raised their glasses to wish the newlyweds may all their wishes come true and grow old together.)
• 尽管生活充满变数，但我仍真诚地希望你们心想事成，所有努力都能开花结果。(Though life is full of uncertainty, I sincerely hope that all your wishes come true and that all your efforts bear fruit.)

Don't Say

• 我心想事成了这个项目 — 心想事成 is a blessing/idiom, not a verb phrase; say 项目顺利完成了 instead

Origin & History

心想 (what the heart wishes) + 事成 (matters come to fruition)

Cultural Context

Era: Traditional to Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal