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虚名 (xū míng) — undeserved or false reputation; nominal title (position without real authority)

Definition

虚名 refers to a reputation or title that sounds impressive but is hollow — the person lacks the substance or power to back it up. Often paired with 徒有 (徒有虚名).

noun
undeserved or false reputationnominal title (position without real authority)

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā suī rán zài gōng sī yǒu hěn gāo de zhí wèi, dàn bú guò shì tú yǒu xū míng bà liǎo.
    Although he has a high position in the company, he merely has an undeserved reputation.
  • 虚名，。
    Tā zhǐ yǒu yí gè xū míng, shí jì shang shén me quán lì yě méi yǒu.
    He only has a nominal title, with no real power at all.
  • 虚名，。
    Tā zhuī qiú de bìng bú shì xū míng, ér shì zhēn zhèng de chéng jiù.
    What he pursues is not an undeserved reputation, but real achievements.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

虚xūfalse/empty
名míngname/reputation

虚名 is a 名 'name/reputation' that is 虚 'false/empty', hence an undeserved title.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 虛; 虚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
丘丘qiūhill
Sound part声符shēngfú
虍
虍hū虛xū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 虛 pairs the upper 虍, which gives the sound, with a lower part shaped like 丘, 'hill'; the simplified 虚 is a later shorthand.

Open 虚 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Open 名 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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