虚幻
xū huàn · HSK 7
imaginary
🫧 虚 empty/hollow + 幻 illusion = a hollow illusion, something unreal
虚 means empty or false; 幻 means illusion or phantom. Together they label things that exist only as illusions, not in fact. Sound-alike for 幻 huàn: rhymes with the wan in wander, a mind that wanders off into the unreal.
虚 — tiger radical 虍 + hill 丘 (now 业)
Originally depicted a large mound or hill where tigers (虍) roamed, written with 虍 over 丘. Because such high places were often deserted, the meaning shifted from 'big hill' to 'empty, void, vacant,' and by extension 'unreal' or 'humble.' The bottom 丘 was later simplified to 业.