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虚构 (xū gòu) — to fabricate, to make up (a story, a character, etc.), to fictionalize

Definition

虚构 (xūgòu) means to fabricate or fictionalize a story, character, or fact — often in creative writing. Lighter than 编造 (which usually means a deliberate lie); more deliberate than 虚拟 (which can be hypothetical or virtual).

verb
to fabricateto make up (a story, a character, etc.)to fictionalize

Examples

  • 虚构。
    Zhè ge zuò jiā shàn cháng xū gòu lì shǐ rén wù.
    This writer is good at fictionalizing historical figures.
  • 虚构。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng de jù qíng wán quán shì xū gòu chū lái de.
    The plot of this movie is completely fabricated.
  • 虚构，。
    Wǒ men bú yào xū gòu shì shí, yào jiǎng zhēn huà.
    We shouldn't fabricate facts; we should tell the truth.

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xūunreal
构gòuconstruct

虚 means unreal and 构 means construct, together giving to make up something unreal.

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 →

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
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
勾
勾gōu构gòu
Same sound today

构 combines 木 (wood) with 勾, which gives the sound.

Open 构 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Literature & Poetry

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.