夢中(むちゅう)になる

むちゅうになる
expression
to become absorbed; to be engrossed
emotioncognition
1. to become absorbed in; to be engrossed in
To become so focused on or fascinated by something that one loses awareness of everything else.
ゲームに夢中(むちゅう)になる。
I get absorbed in games.
子(こ)どもたちは砂(すな)遊(あそ)びに夢中(むちゅう)になっていた。
The children were engrossed in playing in the sand.
読書(どくしょ)に夢中(むちゅう)になって、電車(でんしゃ)を乗(の)り過(す)ごしてしまった。
I got so absorbed in reading that I missed my train stop.

The pattern is ～に夢中(むちゅう)になる, where に marks the object of fascination. 夢中(むちゅう) can also be used as a na-adjective: 夢中(むちゅう)で走(はし)った (ran frantically). When used with で instead of に, it often conveys doing something desperately or without thinking, rather than being fascinated. The literal meaning of 夢中(むちゅう) is "in a dream," reflecting the idea of being so absorbed that reality fades away.

Related Words

Compare: 没頭(ぼっとう) (immersion)
Compare: 没頭(ぼっとう)する (to be absorbed in)
Compare: のぼせる (to feel flushed)
Compare: 熱中(ねっちゅう)する (to be absorbed in)
Compare: 我(われ)を忘(わす)れる (to lose oneself)
Compare: 無心(むしん)になる (to become absorbed)
Compare: 取(と)り憑(つ)かれる (to be possessed)
general
Added 2026.3.23 14:28 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
18500/18839_muchuuninaru