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空しい (むなしい, munashii) Japanese meaning: empty | Kotomora
Common word› JLPT N1 › Freq. Frequency Top 5,000 Conjugation 空しい · i-adjective
Form Positive Negative Dictionary 空むな しい 空むな しくない Polite 空むな しいです 空むな しくないです also 空むな しくありません Past polite 空むな しかったです 空むな しくなかったです also 空むな しくありませんでした Past 空むな しかった 空むな しくなかった Te-form 空むな しくて 空むな しくなくて Adverbial 空むな しく Conditional 空むな しければ 空むな しくなければ Tara conditional 空むな しかったら 空むな しくなかったら
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で
、
むなしい
感かん
じ
が
し
た
。
The room was empty and felt hollow.
Usage patterns 〈 事こと 〉 がむなしい for an effort or attempt to be in vain
His resistance was in vain.
心こころ がむなしい to feel a hollow emptiness inside
No matter what I do, my heart feels empty.
むなしく 〈 動どう 詞し 〉 to do something in vain, ending without result
The plan came to nothing in the end.
Expressions 努ど 力りょく も 虚むな しく after efforts in vain; all efforts having been in vain Kanji 虚 void, emptiness, unpreparedness Related words· 6 空っぽ is a concrete, colloquial word for physical emptiness like an empty box, while 虚しい usually carries an emotional or metaphorical sense of hollowness.
無駄 focuses on the lack of practical benefit or wastefulness of an act, while 虚しい emphasizes the emotional feeling of pointlessness that follows a failed effort.
虚しい emphasizes emptiness or futility with a focus on lack of meaning, while 儚い stresses the fleeting, fragile nature of something.
虚しい conveys a stronger, more emotional sense of futility or emptiness, whereas 味気ない describes a milder, bland lack of fulfillment.
Show 2 more 虚しい is an i-adjective expressing a feeling of futility or emptiness, while 空疎 is a na-adjective specifically criticizing arguments or plans for lacking substance.
虚しい is an i-adjective expressing a personal feeling of futility or emptiness, while 空虚 is a noun/na-adjective used more objectively or formally.
Don't confuse with 悲しい means sad, describing an emotion of sorrow, whereas 虚しい describes a feeling of emptiness or futility that isn't necessarily sadness.
寂しい means lonely, focusing on the absence of company, while 虚しい describes a broader sense of emptiness or futility not tied to loneliness.
Written forms 空むな しい Usage 32%
Very common kanji form; 空 directly suggests emptiness or sky.
むなしい Usage 36%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the intended kanji nuance is not important.
虚むな しい Usage 32%
Common kanji form; 虚 carries a nuance of hollowness or emptiness.
Etymology Derived from classical Japanese むなし (munashi). The kanji 空 (sky/empty) and 虚 (void/false) both represent the core meaning of emptiness or hollowness.