空しい

むなしい · munashii · JLPT N1 · i-adj

futile

🫙 空 (kū) = empty, so 空しい = empty, vacant, or futile

空 means empty, the same root as 空室 (vacant room). Use it for a hollow win or effort that leads nowhere: vain and futile.

空 — cave radical 穴 + 工 (phonetic)
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 穴 (cave, hole) gives the meaning of emptiness or hollow space, while 工 supplies the sound. The earliest sense was 'hole' or 'cavity,' which extended to 'empty,' 'sky,' and 'in vain.' The reading kòng (4th tone) specifically means 'free time' or 'vacancy.'

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