空々しい

• Reading: そらぞらしい
• Romaji: sorazorashii
• Kanji breakdown: 空 (sora/kuu) — sky, hollow, empty, vague
• Pronunciation: /so.ɾa.zo.ɾa.ɕiː/

Meaning

Transparently false; obviously feigned; blatantly insincere; barefaced. Describes behaviour or speech that is clearly fake despite a pretence of sincerity.

A compound i-adjective from 空 (sora, hollow/empty) with the reduplication 々 and i-adjective suffix しい. Describes an act or expression so poorly concealed that its falseness is immediately apparent to observers. 空々しい嘘 (a barefaced lie) and 空々しい言い訳 (a transparent excuse) are typical collocations. More evaluative and condemning than 嘘くさい; 空々しい carries a literary, formal register that makes it more common in written prose and polished speech than in casual conversation.

Examples

1. 散々迷惑をかけておいて空々しい謝罪の言葉を並べられても、誰も信じない。 After causing so much trouble, trotting out a string of hollow apologies convinced nobody.
2. 彼女が空々しい笑顔で挨拶するたびに、その本当の感情が透けて見えた。 Every time she greeted people with that obviously forced smile, her true feelings showed right through.
3. 空々しい言い訳を聞かされるよりも、沈黙のほうがまだ潔いというものだ。 Listening to a transparent excuse is, if anything, less dignified than simply saying nothing at all.

Usage Guide

Context: deception, social critique, interpersonal relations, literature

Tone: negative

Origin & History

From 空 (sora, hollow/empty) with the reduplicating character 々 and adjective suffix しい. The hollow emptiness implied by 空 suggests that the apparent sincerity has nothing behind it—it is all surface and no substance. Attested in classical literature as a descriptor of conspicuously false behaviour.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical–Modern

Generation: Adults

Social background: Universal