fictitious bill; dishonored bill; bad check
Literal financial term for a bill or check that cannot be honored, often because the issuer lacks funds or the document is fraudulent.
That company issued a bad check and caused trouble for its business partners.
empty promise; hollow promise
Figurative use likening an unfulfilled promise to a worthless financial instrument. Common in expressions such as 空手形を切る or 空手形に終わる.
Politicians' campaign promises often end up as empty promises.
He just made another hollow promise.
A dishonored bill that has been formally refused by the bank; 空手形 is broader and includes fictitious bills.
Standard kanji spelling for both the literal financial sense and the figurative promise sense.
Compound of 空 (から, 'empty') and 手形 (てがた, 'bill, note'). The figurative sense extends the idea of a worthless financial document to any insincere promise.