实现

The Chinese word 实现 (shíxiàn) is composed of two characters: 实 (shí) and 现 (xiàn). The character 实 originally meant "real" or "true", and was often used in contrast to the character 虚 (xū), which meant "false" or "empty". Over time, the meaning of 实 expanded to include the idea of "achieving" or "realizing", as in the phrase 实践 (shíjiàn), which means "to put into practice" or "to realize". The character 现 originally meant "to appear" or "to manifest", and was often used in contrast to the character 隐 (yǐn), which meant "to hide" or "to conceal". Over time, the meaning of 现 expanded to include the idea of "existing" or "being present", as in the phrase 现状 (xiànzhuàng), which means "the current situation" or "the status quo". When these two characters are combined to form the word 实现, the meaning is "to achieve" or "to realize", as in the phrase 实现梦想 (shíxiàn mèngxiǎng), which means "to achieve one's dreams".