Taxonomy of meanings for 虛:　　

  • 虛 康熙字典：《廣韻》去魚切，音祛。《說文》大丘也。《集韻》古者九夫爲井，四井爲邑，四邑爲丘，丘謂之虛。
    • 虛 康熙字典：《唐韻》朽居切《集韻》《正韻》休居切，音噓。空虛也。
        • EMPTY
          • nabemptiness, empty space; depletion; voidness;
          • nabactthe cultivation of emptiness
          • nabmethod(abstract) emptiness (of mind)
          • vadNfigurativeinsubstantial, inconsequential; rarified; vacant; also generally: empty; characterised by emptiness 虛月 "months where they are empty"
          • vadVfigurativeinconsequentially; groundlessly, without a basis in facts; without sound reason; pointlessly; in vain
          • vibe literally empty (like storehouses etc)
          • viactbe vacant; be open-minded; cultivate emptiness; be empty and receptive
          • vtoNcausativecause to be empty; allow to be empty
          • vtoNcausativecause (oneself) to be empty
          • vtoNcausativemake (oneself) empty, make oneself open-minded, become open-minded 虛己
          • vtoNfigurativecause (the mind etc) to be without special ambitions and preoccupations 虛心
          • nabpoeticderived: meaninglessnessCH
          • viinchoativeget empty, be emptied outCH
          • empty object> STOMACH
            • v[adN]empty stomachCH
          • causative: empty out> EXHAUST
            • vtoNdeplete, exhaust the resources of
            • vtoNpassivebe depleted
            • vt+prep+Nv=middle voiceget exhausted as for N; be short of NDS
            • exhaust lifetime> DIE
              • nabstatedeath
          • abstract> SPACE
            • nempty space occupied, living space
            • contents of> AIR
              • nmair, thin air
            • above> SKY
              • nsky 碧虛 "greenish-blue sky"
              • CONSTELLATION
                • nBarrens, one of the 28 constellations or Lodgings of stars in Heaven
          • empty of solid gross matter> TENUOUS
            • visubtle, imponderable; insubstantial
            • abstract> INSUFFICIENT
              • nabfeatureinsufficiencies, weak points
              • vibe deficient (in form or quantity)CH
              • in strength> WEAK
                • vibe insufficient and weak 膽虛 "weak courage"
              • in status> HUMBLE
                • vtoNcausative.reflex.自make (oneself) humble> humble (oneself) before others
                • vadVas a humble person would> humbly 虛受 “receive humbly"
                • receptive humility> SENSIBILITY
                  • nabreceptive and reactive openness, unassertive sensibility CH
                  • vt[oN]be receptive and perceptive to thingsCH
            • empty fo concrete content> ABSTRACT
              • vadNfigurativeabstract and without concrete reference
              • nababstract ethereal qualityCH
              • devoid of individual cause> NATURALLY
                • vadVwithout any particular agent or reason being involved: naturally
                • vipsychologicalbe unobtrusively natural; be completely naturalCH
                • devoid of purpose> IN VAIN
                  • vadVto no avail; to no effect; needlessly; for nothing; for no reason 名不虛傳 “the good name is not transmitted for nothing"
                  • vadVfor no good reason, for nothing, out of nothingCH
                  • devoid of basis in fact> UNTRUE
                    • vadNuntrue; unsubstantiated
                    • vadVfalsely, without solid foundation in truth
                    • vibe unfounded; be without real substance; be unsubstantiated
                    • v[adN]mistakeVK
                    • fraudulently> FAKE
                      • vadNbe not genuine, be false; be fake; be dishonest
                      • vifake
                      • vadVin a fake way; emptily, falselyCH
      • =墟 RUINS
        • n=墟 ruins
        • nadN=墟 in ruins
        • vichange=墟 be turned into ruins, be laid waste
        • vtoNpassive=墟 be reduced to ruins, be laid waste
        • vtoNcausative=墟 turn N to ruinsLZ
        • nderiveddilapidated dwellingCH

        Additional information about 虛

        說文解字:

          Criteria
        • REALITY

          1. The current word referring to reality is shí 實 (ant. xū 虛 "pretended reality"), but the word acquired this meaning rather late (meaning "object" in earlier texts).

          2. Qíng 情 (ant. wěi 偽 "fake") and chéng 誠 (ant. zhà 詐 "fraudulent") are often used interchangeably to refer to the real facts versus what is pretended or what is merely superficial.

          3. Zhēn 真 (ant. jiǎ 假 "faked") refers to the genuine inner state of something, the ultimate truth about it.

        • EMPTY

          1. The most geneal word is xū 虛 (ant. shí 實 "substantial and full") which can refer both to physical emptiness of a space and to abstract emptiness or tenuousness as a philosophical concept.

          2. Kōng 空 (ant. mǎn 滿 "filled up") generally refers to literal emptiness of a container, but used adjectivally the word also has abstract uses as in kōng yán 空言 "empty words, abstract insubstantial discourse".

          3. Wú 無 (ant. yǒu 有 "existence") refers to the philosophical abstract construct of "nothingness, emptiness".

          4. Kuò 廓 and kuàng 曠 emphasise the expansiveness of the empty space.

        • FILL

          1. The most general and current word in this group is probably yíng 盈 (ant. xū 虛 "empty out") which refers to any filling up or filling in, abstract or concrete.

          2. Chōng 充 refers to the concrete filling out completely of a container or a suitable empty space with (often desirable) physical substances.

          3. Sài 塞 emphasises the nuance of filling in a space not necessarily designed to be filled in so as to block the free passage of other substances.

          4. Mǎn 滿 is a word that was rather late to gain currency, replacing certain usages of yíng 盈, and it refers to the filling out of all of an empty space, with large amounts or large numbers of some specified kind of objects.

          5. Tián 填 is originally to fill out something so as to make a level surface.

        • RUINS

          1. The current standard word for ruins is xū 墟 / 虛.

          2. Qiū 丘 "mound" is sometimes used periphrastically to refer to ruins.

        • ILLUSION

          This concept was elaborated in Buddhism, but transferred uses of words like xū 虛 "empty, illusory" do perhaps convey the meaning in pre-Buddhist Chinese.

        • ABSTRACT

          [COMMENDATORY/DEROGATORY]

          [EXPLICIT/IMPLICIT]

          1. Xū 虛 derives its sense from the meaning "physically insubstantial" and refers negatively to something having only tenuous links with concrete things.

          [EXPLICIT]

          2. Wēi 微 derives its sense from the meaning "slight; tenuous" refers to something being so subtle and only indirectly suggestive as to have no direct manifest reference to any concrete reality or meaning.

          [IMPLICIT]

          3. Kōng 空 derives from the meaning "physically empty (space)" and refers to something being empty in a transferred sense so as to have no manifest reference to concrete reality.

          [DEROGATORY], [EXPLICIT]

        • FAKE

          1. The current general word for faking something is jiǎo 矯 and the typical focus is on fraudulence involved.

          2. Wěi 偽 (ant. zhēn 真 ) focusses on the artificiality rather than natural or proper provenance of the product.

          3. Xū 虛 (ant. shí 實 ) focusses on the insubstantiality of the product, and the word is normally used adnominally.

          NB: Jiǎ 假 (ant. zhēn 真 ) focusses on something standing in for something else that is the genuine thing, but this usage was late to develop (HOUHANSHU).

        • TRUE

          1. The most current word is rán 然 "it is so" (ant. fǒu 否 "be untrue"), and what is said to be so is a yán 言 "statement', and things are claimed to be as stated in that statement.

          2. Kě 可 refers to logical or ethical acceptability.

          3. Xìn 信 (ant. zhà 詐 "fraudulent and not reliable") refers prototypically to reliablity as information.

          4. Shì 是 (ant. fēi 非 "wrong") refers prototypically to what invites assent or approval.

          5. Zhēn 真 (ant. jiǎ 假 "fake") typically refers to what contains nothing faked or unreal and is genuinely true.

          6. Dāng 當 (ant. guò 過 "wrong") refers prototypically to what fits the facts and does not deviate.

          7. Yǒu 有 (ant. wú 無 "there is no such fact")refers abstractly to the occurrence of an event or the truth of an abstract proposition.

          8. Chéng 誠 (ant. wěi 偽 "faked") refers to honest truth. (Note that chéng 誠 normally means "earnest" in early texts and has nothing to do with this meaning.)

          9. Shí 實 "real and true" (ant. xū 虛 "only apparently") refers to something not being a figment of the imagination. See REAL.

        • UNTRUE

          1. Fēi 非 refers to something being untrue and thus to be rejected.

          2. Xū 虛 claims that something is to be rejected because it is insufficiently founded on solid fact.

        • HUMILITY

          TERMINOLOGY NEEDS TO BE MOVED HERE.

          自卑

          謙虛

          虛心

        • ZERO

          1. 無 x 直 means "the value of X is zero". JZ 8.8: 下無錢直 "below there is no coin value, i.e. there is zero.

          2. 虛缺　JZ 8.8 於下實虛缺矣 "below, the dividend, having been empty, now involves a lack> is negative

        • CONCRETE

          Shí 實 (ant. xū 虛 insubstantial, abstract) refers to something being manifest and concrete rather than abstract.

        • SPACE

          Note also 太虛，虛

          Word relations
        • Ant: (EMPTY)實/FULL Shí 實 can refer to something being full of solid substance, and thus by extension not tenuous or unimportant.
        • Ant: (EMPTY)盈/FULL The ancient standard word for fullness of any kind is yíng 盈.
        • Ant: (ABSTRACT)實/CONCRETE
        • Epithet: (UNTRUE)言/SPEAK Yán 言 is to speak up, propose, typically in public, and on one's own initiative, to maintain something, and the word can indroduce direct speech as well as occasionally very limited indirect speech.
        • Epithet: (EMPTY)辭/PROSE
        • Epithet: (EMPTY)一/ONE The general word for one is yī 一.
        • Assoc: (EMPTY)浮/FRIVOLOUS Fú 浮 sometimes refers to the kind of flippancy or frivolousness that might call for criticism but is not viewed as entirely serious.
        • Assoc: (EMPTY)空/EMPTY Kōng 空 (ant. mǎn 滿 "filled up") generally refers to literal emptiness of a container, but used adjectivally the word also has abstract uses as in kōng yán 空言 "empty words, abstract insubstantial discourse".
        • Assoc: (EMPTY)華/EXTRAVAGANT Huá 華 is purely demonstrative conspicuous and aesthetically elaborate consumption.　huā???
        • Assoc: (EMPTY)假/MISTAKE
        • Assoc: (EMPTY)靜/INACTIVE The standard general word for remaining inactive is jìng 靜 (ant. dòng 動 "take an initiative")
        • Synon: (EMPTY)空/EMPTY Kōng 空 (ant. mǎn 滿 "filled up") generally refers to literal emptiness of a container, but used adjectivally the word also has abstract uses as in kōng yán 空言 "empty words, abstract insubstantial discourse".
        • Synon: (UNTRUE)空/UNTRUE