Japanese word

架空

Pronunciation

Romajikakū

Meaning

  • nounfictional

Example

これは架空の人物です。ko re wa ka kū no jin butsu de su

This is a fictional person.

Illustration for 架空 (fictional)

More examples

小説では、架空の町を舞台にしても現実感を出せます。shō setsu de wa ka kū no machi o bu tai ni shi te mo gen jitsu kan o da se ma su

In a novel, you can create a sense of reality even when the setting is a fictional town.

Core concept

Describes a person, place, or story that exists only in the imagination rather than in the real world.

Common phrases

  • 架空の人物ka kū no jin butsu

    fictional character

  • 架空の物語ka kū no monogatari

    fictional story

  • 架空の世界ka kū no se kai

    fictional world

Similar words

虚構kyokō: A made-up story, world, or reality formed through creative invention.
フィクションfikushon: A narrative or work that presents invented events, people, or places.

Definition in Japanese

実際には存在せず、想像によって作られたもの。jis sai ni wa son zai se zu sō zō ni yo tte tsuku ra re ta mo no

Word origin

The Sino-Japanese compound 架空 (kakū, "fictional") combines 架 (ka, "to support or put across") and 空 (kū, "empty space"), suggesting something suspended in empty space.

Usage tips

  • English fictional is often neutral for invented stories and characters, while fictitious can suggest that something is falsely presented as real, and 架空 (kakū) can cover both uses.

Other meanings

  • imaginarynoun
  • fictitiousnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 架空化kakūkafictionalizationnoun

Word lists with this word