虚拟
xūnǐ · HSK 7
fictitious
🥽 虚 (empty/false) + 拟 (imitate) = a false imitation, i.e. virtual or fictitious
虚 means empty, void, or false; 拟 means to imitate or draft. Together they name something that imitates the real without being real, hence virtual, pseudo, or suppositional. Sound: shoo-nee.
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.
拟 — hand radical 扌 + 疑 yí (doubt/phonetic)
拟 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the hand radical 扌 suggests an action, while 疑 supplies the sound. It originally meant to plan or draft by hand, and extended to 'imitate, compare, draw up.' 拟 is the simplified form of 擬.