delusion / craze
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delusion
A pathological, uncorrectable belief or idea that contradicts reality and of which a person is firmly convinced. A symptom of mental illness.
Der Patient leidet unter dem Wahn, von Außerirdischen verfolgt zu werden.
The patient suffers from the delusion of being followed by aliens.
'Der Wahn' (the delusion) is the root of 'der Wahnsinn' (madness) and 'wahnsinnig' (insane / incredibly). While 'Wahn' describes a specific, often pathological idea, 'Wahnsinn' is the general state or a colloquial exaggeration for something crazy.
Sein Glaube, er könne fliegen, war reiner Wahn.
His belief that he could fly was pure delusion.
You can recognize the medical meaning (m01) from verbs like 'leiden an' (to suffer from) in a psychological context. The colloquial meaning (m02) often refers to exaggerated trends and frequently appears in compound words.
Der Patient leidet an Verfolgungswahn.
The patient suffers from paranoia.
In the colloquial meaning, 'Wahn' (craze) is often used as the second part of nouns to criticize an exaggerated fashion or obsession. Typical examples are 'Jugendwahn' (obsession with youth), 'Schönheitswahn' (beauty craze), or 'Kontrollwahn' (control mania).
Sie macht bei diesem ganzen Diät-Wahn nicht mit.
She doesn't take part in this whole diet craze.
The expression 'der helle Wahn' (sheer madness) is a fixed expression used as an exclamation of disbelief or annoyance. It means something like 'that's absolutely crazy!'.
Fünf Euro für eine Kugel Eis? Das ist ja der helle Wahn!
Five euros for a scoop of ice cream? That's sheer madness!
madness / amazing
'der Wahnsinn' and 'der Wahn' look similar, and both have to do with something crazy or irrational. 'Wahn' often means a fixed, false idea that someone cannot let go of; this can also occur in a medical or serious context. 'Wahnsinn' is used much more broadly in everyday language: for something unbelievable, impressive, or extremely unreasonable. The words are therefore easy to confuse. As an exclamation, people usually say 'Wahnsinn!', not simply 'Wahn!'. 'Wahn' fits better when it is about a false belief or an exaggerated idea.
In seinem Wahn glaubte der Mann, alle Nachbarn würden ihn beobachten.
In his delusion, the man believed that all the neighbors were watching him.
Das Feuerwerk am See war Wahnsinn.
The fireworks by the lake were amazing.