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虚无 (xū wú) — nothingness; the void (philosophical or spiritual emptiness); (archaic) the firmament; the vast sky

Definition

Philosophical term for 'nothingness' — the absence of being or meaning, as in nihilism (虚无主义). In older literary use, it can also mean the vast empty sky.

noun
nothingnessthe void (philosophical or spiritual emptiness)(archaic) the firmamentthe vast sky

Examples

  • 虚无，。
    Miàn duì yǔ zhòu de xū wú, tā gǎn dào yì zhǒng shēn shēn de gū dú.
    Facing the nothingness of the universe, he felt a deep loneliness.
  • 。
    xū wú Zhǔ yì rèn wéi rén shēng méi yǒu yì yì.
    Nihilism holds that life has no meaning.
  • 虚无。
    Zhè shǒu shī miáo xiě le tiān dì jiān de xū wú.
    This poem depicts the void between heaven and earth.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

虚xūempty
无wúnothing

虚 means empty and 无 means nothing, together expressing a void.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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