自作多情

[owen]

Heard this 成语 the other day and someone tried to explain it to me. I didn't get it. Can anyone else explain it in chinese or english.

[skylee]

When a person falls in love with someone who doesn't share the same feeling, then he/she is 自作多情.

[kudra]

chapter 3, David and Helen

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/ealac/zhang/dh/dh_audioclips.htm

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/ealac/zhang/dh/dh_audio/03a.mp3

Helen's aunt, miffed that Helen is not properly appreciative of her efforts

at matchmaking, comments on Helen's friend David....

"那你的男朋友也一樣認真嗎？你可別子作多情啊！“

“那你的男朋友也一样认真马？你可别自作多情啊！”

"self attribute more feeling"

The text has it as "to imagine that somebody is interested in you"

To me it comes across as, "And that boyfriend, is he as serious as you? Better not flatter yourself that he is that interested in you!" The context is they have both graduated, having become friends while undergraduates, but now Helen is in Taipei, David is in Beijing.

For some reason 自作多情 is not in adso.

[mpallard]

I thought it meant someone who thinks all people of the opposite sex are automatically interested in them.

[itariajin]

Wenlin says "fancy oneself as attractive to the opposite sex"; "be pleased with oneself"

[tanhql]

自作多情 literally means 'oneself make many feelings'.

[td36285n]

自 作 多 情 is a 成 语 that I hear again and again in many Hong Kong TV series. They sometimes use it to flirt with someone of the opposite sex.

My interpretation: "You're too emotional and think too much."

[amego]

Also its favorite sister phrase 一廂情願 "wishful thinking on one's part" "one's feeling isn't reciprocated"

Always in a tearful setting, where the lead mercilessly jerks away the other, saying "這都是你自己自作多情，一廂情願。。。我根本就沒愛過你！"

Haix...cliched...

[Quest]

This is related to: http://www.chinese-forums.com/showthread.php?p=52425