虚 (xū): emptiness, void, abstract theory or guiding principles
虚 (xū) is a Chinese character meaning “emptiness.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 虍 (structural) and 业 (structural). It ranks #1070 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 虚 a tiger 虍 stalking in the bushes 业. Its radical form 虍 (tiger) appears in many related characters such as 虑 (lǜ, to think over), 虎 (hǔ, tiger), 虏 (lǔ, prisoner of war).
Definitions
- emptiness
- void
- abstract theory or guiding principles
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA tiger 虍 stalking in the bushes 业
Decomposition: ⿸虍业 (layout: surround-from-upper-left)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 虚 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 虚
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 虚构verb | xū gòu | to make up |
| 虚弱adjective | xū ruò | weak |
| 虚伪adjective | xū wěi | false |
| 空虚adjective | kōng xū | hollow |
| 虚假adjective | xū jiǎ | false |
| 虚拟verb | xū nǐ | to imagine |
| 虚张声势 | xū zhāng shēng shì | (idiom) to bluff |
| 虚无adjective | xū wú | nothingness |
| 虚幻adjective | xū huàn | imaginary |
| 虚度verb | xū dù | to fritter away (one's time) |
| 虚荣noun | xū róng | vanity |
| 心虚adjective | xīn xū | lacking in confidence |
| 虚荣心noun | xū róng xīn | vanity |
| 子虚乌有 | zǐ xū wū yǒu | (idiom) to have no basis in fact |
| 虚惊noun | xū jīng | false alarm |
虚 appears in 100 compound words: 64 as the first character, 22 as the last, and 14 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 虚 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (27)
(idiom) stay clear of the enemy's main force and strike at his weak points
it has been worthwhile; the journey has not been made in vain; the journey has been well worthwhile
to have a reputation for something one actually lacks; having a fake reputation
synonym of 向壁虛構 /向壁虚构 (xiàngbìxūgòu, “to make up out of one's head; to fabricate”)
ineffectual; futile; with the setup or appearance but without the intended utility; set up but useless
(idiom) stay clear of the enemy's main force and strike at his weak points
it has been worthwhile; the journey has not been made in vain; the journey has been well worthwhile
to have a reputation for something one actually lacks; having a fake reputation
Showing 12 of 27 idioms containing 虚.
Example Sentences
了解虚字的来源，有助于理解中国文化。
le xiè xū zì de lái yuán , yǒu zhù yú lǐ xiè zhōng guó wén huā .
Understanding the origins of function words helps to comprehend Chinese culture.
报告:美全球没收2340亿虚拟货币资产
bào gào : měi quán qiú méi shōu 2 3 4 0 yì xū nǐ huò bì zī chǎn
Report: The United States confiscated 234 billion virtual currency assets worldwide
...报告:美国利用技术霸权夺取逾300亿美元虚拟货币
. . . bào gào : měi guó lì yòng jì shù bà quán duó qǔ yú 3 0 0 yì měi yuán xū nǐ huò bì
... Report: The United States uses technological hegemony to seize more than $30 billion in virtual currency
媒体报导称郑习会3/12登场 国民党:子虚乌有
méi tǐ bào dǎo chèn zhèng xí huì 3 1 2 dēng chǎng guó mín dǎng : zǐ xū wū yǒu
Media reports say that Zheng Xihui will appear on 3/12 Kuomintang: Zixu
无糖食品网上的产品真实吗?如何辨别虚假宣传
wú táng shí pǐn wǎng shàng de chǎn pǐn zhēn shí ma ? rú hé biàn bié xū jiǎ xuān chuán
Are the products on Sugar Free Food Online real? How to identify false propaganda
虚拟三地大鼎展柜 揭博物馆政治
xū nǐ sān dì dà dǐng zhǎn guì jiē bó wù guǎn zhèng zhì
The virtual three-place Dading display cabinet reveals the politics of the museum
获得诺贝尔奖后，她仍谦虚如昔。
Huòdé Nuòbèi'ěr Jiǎng hòu, tā réng qiānxū rú xī.
After winning the Nobel prize, she remained as modest as ever.
未来飞行员会在虚拟驾驶舱里训练。
Wèilái fēixíngyuán huì zài xūnǐ jiàshǐcāng lǐ xùnliàn.
The future pilot is trained in a mock cockpit.
法律必须被信仰，否则形同虚设。
Fǎlǜ bìxū bèi xìnyǎng, fǒuzé xíngtóngxūshè.
One must have conviction in law, or its existence will be superficial only.
你有没有体验过虚拟实境？
Nǐ yǒuméiyǒu tǐyàn guo xūnǐshíjìng?
Have you ever tried virtual reality?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 虚 (xū) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 虚 have?
What is the radical of 虚?
What are the components of 虚?
What are common words containing 虚?
What characters sound the same as 虚 (xū)?
Is 虚 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 虚 with real-time feedback
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