The kanji 虚 (kyou) primarily conveys the ideas of "emptiness," "void," "hollowness," "falsity," or "unreality." It can describe a physical state of being empty or vacant, as well as an abstract state of being unreal, untrue, or lacking substance. It suggests a lack of something, whether it be physical content, truth, or a solid foundation.

・On-yomi (音読み): キョ (kyo) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): むな-しい (muna-shii)

⚫︎ 虚偽 Translation: Falsehood; Lie ⚫︎ 虚無 Translation: Emptiness; Nothingness; Void ⚫︎ 虚弱体質 Translation: Weak constitution

The kanji 虚 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound. It is composed of the radical 虍 (toratobou, meaning "tiger") on the top, and 丘 (oka, meaning "hill" or "mound") on the bottom. The 虍part likely provides a hint of the sound, and the 丘 part may have originally related to a concept of a mound or space. Over time, the character evolved to represent the concept of emptiness or hollowness, perhaps by associating it with a space or void.