悬空 (xuán kōng) — to hang in the air; to suspend in midair; to be divorced from reality; to be unrealistic (of ideas, plans)

Definition

Used literally for things physically hanging in midair, and figuratively for ideas, plans, or policies that are 'up in the air' — ungrounded from reality. Note the verb-complement split: 悬着空.

verb
to hang in the airto suspend in midairto be divorced from realityto be unrealistic (of ideas, plans)

Examples

  • ，。
    Nà gēn shéng zi yì zhí xuán zhe kōng, méi rén gǎn qù lā.
    That rope has been hanging in the air all along; nobody dares to pull it.
  • 悬空，。
    Tā de xiǎng fǎ tài xuán kōng, gēn běn bú xiàn shí.
    His ideas are too divorced from reality; they're completely impractical.
  • ，。
    Zhè ge zhèng cè rú guǒ yì zhí xuán zhe kōng, yǒng yuǎn wú fǎ luò shí.
    If this policy remains suspended in the air, it will never be implemented.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

悬xuánhang
空kōngair

悬 gives the sense of hanging, and 空 names the air or empty space where it hangs.

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 懸; 悬 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
縣
縣xiàn懸xuán
Same sound today

The traditional form 懸 adds 心, “heart,” to the older form 縣, which gave the sound. The simplified 悬 is a later abbreviation.

Open 悬 →

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
穴穴xuécave, hole
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng空kōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

空 is built from 穴, a cave or hole, and 工, which gives the sound.

Open 空 →

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