I learnt this week that there are two words in Russian for dream – сон [son] and мечта (mɛtʃˈt̪a). The former refers to the dreams you have when asleep, while the latter refers to dreams as in hopes, wishes or visions.
If you’re asleep and dreaming, in Russian you ‘see dreams’, or видеть сны [ˈvʲidʲɪtʲ snɨ]. If you’re dreaming of becoming rich or famous, then you use the verb мечтать [mʲɪt͡ɕˈtatʲ]. If you have a bad dream or nightmare though, it’s a кошмар [koʃˈmar], from the French cauchemar (nightmare)
Сон means sleep or dream, and comes from the Proto-Slavic *sъnъ (sleep, dream), from the Proto-Balto-Slavic *supnas (sleep), from Proto-Indo-European *súpnos (dream). This is also the root of words for sleep in North Germanic languages such as Danish (søvn), Icelandic (svefn) and Swedish (sömn), and the archaic English word sweven (a dream, vision) [source].
Мечта comes from the Proto-Slavic *mьčьta (dream), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *meyk- (to shimmer), [source].
Some examples of how they’re used:
- День и ночь меня преследует один и тот же сон = The same dream haunts me day and night
- С тех пор, как ты уехал, мне снится один и тот же сон = I keep having this dream since you left
- У меня есть мечта = I have a dream
- Быть художником – это последняя мечта, которая у Джимми осталась = Being an artist is the last dream Jimmy has
- Даже находиться в этом офисе – это та мечта, ставшая реальностью = Just being in this office is a dream come true
Source: Reverso
Do other languages make this distinction between different kinds of dreams?