虚幻

• Pinyin: xū huàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 虚 = 虍 + 业 (empty/hollow); 幻 = 幺 + 勹 (illusion/fantasy)

Meaning

Illusory; unreal; phantasmal. Describing something that exists only in imagination or appears unreal.

Used in philosophical, literary, and psychological contexts to describe dreams, illusions, or unrealistic expectations. Often carries a melancholic or reflective tone. Related to Buddhist concepts of impermanence.

Examples

1. 在极度疲惫的状态下，他开始产生一些虚幻的幻觉，无法分清现实与想象。 In a state of extreme exhaustion, he began having illusory hallucinations and couldn’t tell reality from imagination.
2. 诗人将爱情描绘成一场虚幻的旅途，美丽却转瞬即逝。 The poet portrays love as an illusory journey—beautiful, yet fleeting.
3. 那段岁月如今看来恍若虚幻，仿佛只是一场遥远的梦。 Looking back now, that period feels almost unreal, as if it were only a distant dream.

Usage Guide

Context: literature, philosophy, psychology, creative writing

Tone: reflective

Do Say

• 他年轻时怀抱的那些宏大理想，在现实的磨砺下渐渐显得虚幻而遥不可及。(The grand ideals he harboured in his youth gradually came to seem illusory and out of reach as reality wore him down.)
• 禅宗认为世间万物皆为虚幻，执著其上只会徒增苦恼。(Chan Buddhism holds that all things in the world are illusory, and clinging to them only multiplies suffering.)

Don't Say

• 虚幻的计划 — use 不切实际 or 空想 for unrealistic plans; 虚幻 implies dreamlike unreality, not merely poor planning

Origin & History

虚 (empty/unreal) + 幻 (illusion/fantasy) — unreal illusion

Cultural Context

Era: Classical to Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal