空しい

Japanese

Kanji in this term
空
むな
Grade: 1
kun’yomi
Alternative spelling
虚しい

Etymology

From Old Japanese. Appears in the earliest texts of the 700s CE, including the Nihon Shoki and the Man'yōshū.[1] Ultimately from Proto-Japonic *muna.

Analyzable as むな (muna, “cavity, void, open space”, combining form, spelled variously as 空, 虚, 胸, 棟 (空, 虚, 胸, 棟); cognate with standalone nouns 胸 (mune, “chest”), 棟 (mune, “roof ridge”)) + adjective-forming suffix しい (shii).

Pronunciation

  • Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of "空しい"
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形) 空しく むな​しく
むなし​く
[mùnáꜜshìkù]
[mùnáshíꜜkù]
Terminal (終止形) 空しい むなし​い [mùnáshíꜜì]
Attributive (連体形) 空しい むなし​い [mùnáshíꜜì]
Key constructions
Informal negative 空しくない むな​しくない
むなし​くない
[mùnáꜜshìkùnàì]
[mùnáshíꜜkùnàì]
Informal past 空しかった むな​しかった
むなし​かった
[mùnáꜜshìkàttà]
[mùnáshíꜜkàttà]
Informal negative past 空しくなかった むな​しくなかった
むなし​くなかった
[mùnáꜜshìkùnàkàttà]
[mùnáshíꜜkùnàkàttà]
Formal 空しいです むなし​いです [mùnáshíꜜìdèsù]
Conjunctive 空しくて むな​しくて
むなし​くて
[mùnáꜜshìkùtè]
[mùnáshíꜜkùtè]
Conditional 空しければ むな​しければ
むなし​ければ
[mùnáꜜshìkèrèbà]
[mùnáshíꜜkèrèbà]

Adjective

空(むな)しい • (munashii) -i (adverbial 空(むな)しく (munashiku))

  1. empty, hollow, void
    Synonyms: 空っぽ (karappo), 虚ろ (utsuro), 空虚 (kūkyo)
  2. groundless, baseless, false
    Synonyms: 事実無根 (jijitsu mukon), 無実 (mujitsu)
  3. uncertain, unreliable, vain, futile
    Synonyms: (temporary, not the real thing) 仮初め (karisome), (vain) 果敢ない (hakanai)
  4. dead, lifeless
  5. unthinking (about someone), unattached (to someone)

Inflection

References

  1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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