虚きょ栄えい心しん

きょ

え

い

し

ん

Common wordJLPTN1

Meanings

noun

vanity; conceit

Refers to the desire for admiration or an inflated sense of self-importance. Often used in psychological or moral contexts.

彼かれの行こう動どうは虚きょ栄えい心しんから出でている。
His actions stem from vanity.
虚きょ栄えい心しんが強つよい人ひとは、他た人にんの評ひょう価かを気きにしすぎる。
People with strong vanity care too much about others' opinions.

See all 9 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉の虚きょ栄えい心しんを満みたすto satisfy someone's vanity
彼かれは高こう級きゅう車しゃを買かって虚きょ栄えい心しんを満みたした。
He bought a luxury car to satisfy his vanity.
虚きょ栄えい心しんが強つよいto have strong vanity
彼かの女じょは虚きょ栄えい心しんが強つよく、いつも人ひとの目めを気きにしている。
She is very vain and always worries about how others see her.
虚きょ栄えい心しんにとらわれるto be consumed by vanity
彼かれは虚きょ栄えい心しんにとらわれて、身み分ぶん不ふ相そう応おうな暮くらしをしていた。
Consumed by vanity, he was living beyond his means.
虚きょ栄えい心しんを捨すてるto abandon one's vanity
虚きょ栄えい心しんを捨すてて、もっと質しっ素そな生せい活かつを始はじめた。
He gave up his vanity and started a simpler life.

Kanji

虚void, emptiness, unpreparedness
栄flourish, prosperity, honor
心heart, mind, spirit

Related words

見み栄えN1
見栄 focuses on outward appearance and showing off to others, while 虚栄心 is the broader inner desire for admiration or an inflated self-image.
自惚うぬぼれN1
うぬぼれ is a casual, everyday word for self-conceit, while 虚栄心 is the formal, psychological term for the same trait.
自じ尊そん心しんN1
自尊心 is healthy self-respect or pride, whereas 虚栄心 implies an empty, excessive pride aimed at impressing others.
プライドN2
プライド is a casual loanword for pride that can be positive or negative, while 虚栄心 specifically denotes a hollow, appearance-driven vanity.
見み栄えっ張ぱりN1
虚栄心 is the formal, abstract term for vanity as a trait, while 見栄っ張り describes a person who displays that trait.

Opposites

謙けん虚きょN2
謙虚 describes a humble, modest attitude, the direct opposite of the self-important, admiration-seeking 虚栄心.

Don't confuse with

虚きょ勢せい
虚勢 means a false show of strength or bravado, while 虚栄心 is the underlying desire for admiration, not a performance of toughness.
自じ尊そん心しんN1
虚栄心 is vanity, a desire to appear better than one is, while 自尊心 is genuine self-respect, though both can shade into excessive pride.

Built from

虚きょ栄えい+心しん

Etymology

Compound of 虚栄 (kyoei, 'vanity, empty glory') and 心 (shin, 'heart, mind'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word follows standard Sino-Japanese word formation patterns.