fictitious; non-existent; nothingness
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
nothingness; non-existence; illusion
literaryOriginally from '乌有先生' (Mr. Non-existent) in Sima Xiangru's 'Zi Xu Fu'. Used chiefly in set phrases like '化为乌有' or '子虚乌有' to denote something fictitious or illusory.
zǐ子
xū虚
wū乌
yǒu有
Sheer fiction; totally unfounded.
Tā他
de的
suǒ所
yǒu有
jī积
xù蓄
dōu都
huà化
wéi为
le了
wū乌
yǒu有
。
All his savings came to nothing.
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Zhè这
bù不
guò过
shì是
wū乌
yǒu有
zhī之
tán谈
，
bù不
zú足
wéi为
xìn信
。
This is but a fictitious tale, not to be trusted.