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空虚 (kōng xū) — empty (emotionally, spiritually); hollow; meaningless

Definition

空虚 describes an emotional or spiritual emptiness — feeling hollow inside, life or ideas lacking meaning. Unlike 空洞 (often for speech/writing) or 空荡荡 (for physical spaces), it points to an inner state.

adjective
empty (emotionally, spiritually)hollowmeaningless

Examples

  • 空虚。
    Tā chéng gōng yǐ hòu fǎn ér jué de xīn lǐ hěn kōng xū.
    After he succeeded, he felt even more empty inside.
  • 空虚。
    Méi yǒu mù biāo de shēng huó ràng rén gǎn dào kōng xū.
    Life without goals makes people feel empty.
  • 空虚。
    Nà xiē kǒu hào tīng qǐ lái fēi cháng kōng xū.
    Those slogans sound very hollow.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

空kōngempty
虚xūhollow

空 (empty) and 虚 (hollow) point to the same lack of substance, giving the sense of being hollow or meaningless.

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.

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 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Emotions & Feelings

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