unpreparedness; lack of readiness
Used in contexts where one is caught off guard or not mentally prepared. Often appears in set phrases like 虚を突く (to catch someone off guard).
We attacked all at once, catching the opponent off guard.
Refers to something that is not true or real. Often used in philosophical or formal contexts, contrasting with 実 (truth/reality).
Chinese "Emptiness" constellation
One of the 28 mansions in Chinese astronomy, part of the Black Tortoise (玄武) group. A technical astronomical term.
His claims mix falsehood and truth.
The Emptiness mansion is one of the 28 mansions and belongs to the Black Tortoise.
偽り is the common word for a lie or falsehood in everyday speech, while 虚 conveys the same idea of unreality in a more abstract or philosophical register.
実 refers to the true, concrete reality, while 虚 denotes falsehood or emptiness, and the pair 虚実 is used to contrast truth and falsity.
falsehood; untruth; lie; misinformation · fallacy
modest; humble
nothingness; nihility; void
fiction; fabrication; concoction
emptiness; hollowness; void · inanity; pointlessness; meaninglessness
falsehood; lie
vanity; vainglory
weak; feeble; frail
virtual image · false image; pretense; façade
From Middle Chinese 虚 (hjo, 'emptiness, falsehood'). The Japanese reading きょ is the Sino-Japanese on'yomi.
bluff; false show of power; bold front
imaginary number
ostentation; showiness; affectation
lethargy; despondency; mental numbness · physical collapse; prostration
truth and falsehood; fact and fiction
false report; fake news; misinformation
falsehood; untruth; lie
the sky; the heavens · Great Void (primordial substance in ancient Chinese philosophy)
waxing and waning (of the moon); lunar phase · rise and fall (of fortune); vicissitudes
kidney deficiency; emaciation from sexual overindulgence
false rumor; unfounded report
nominal rank; title in name only
false reputation; empty title; undeserved fame
kanji representing verb or adjective
soft sciences; humanities and social sciences
imaginary expression
open-minded; receptive; unbiased