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子虚乌有 (zǐ xū wū yǒu) — sheer fiction; something completely made up; imaginary

Definition

A four-character idiom meaning something is entirely fabricated and has no basis in reality. A more literary, emphatic alternative to plain words like 假的.

idiom
sheer fictionsomething completely made upimaginary

Examples

  • 子虚乌有，。
    Tā shuō de nà jiàn shì wán quán shì zǐ xū wū yǒu, gēn běn méi yǒu fā shēng.
    That thing he said is completely fictitious; it never happened.
  • 子虚乌有。
    Zhè lèi zǐ xū wū yǒu de chuán yán zài wǎng luò shàng liú chuán hěn kuài.
    This kind of groundless rumor spreads quickly online.
  • 子虚乌有，。
    Bú yào xiāng xìn nà xiē zǐ xū wū yǒu de gù shi, dōu shì biān zào de.
    Don't believe those fabricated stories; they are all made up.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

子虚fictional name
子zǐmaster虚xūempty
偏正Modifier + head
乌有nonexistent
乌wūnot有yǒuhave
偏正Modifier + head

The names 子虚 and 乌有 suggest emptiness and nonexistence, meaning sheer fiction.

Characters in this word

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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 烏; 乌 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 烏 is a drawing of a bird. The simplified 乌 is a later abbreviation.

Open 乌 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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