Other Sides of the Sky: Part 2 of 3
Friday, June 15th, 2007
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Musically and astronomically, we know about the dark side of the moon. But what about the dark side of the sky—or rather, the dark side of the “sky” kanji, 空? As I mentioned in my last blog (when discussing 空々しい (sorazorashii: false, hypocritical) and 空手形 (karategata: bad check; empty promise)), 空 has a seamy side. This kanji often means “fake” or “sham.”
Take, for example, these words:
空名 (kūmei: empty name; false reputation) fake + name
空夢 (sorayume: fabricated dream) fake + dream
A lie about a dream?! Who lies about their dreams?!
空相場 (kūsōba: fictitious transaction) fake + market price
(last 2 chars.)
空景気 (karageiki: false or superficial prosperity) fake + scenery + spirit
Daydreams and Pipe Dreams
Making stuff up isn’t always a bad thing! Without inventiveness, we wouldn’t have fiction or the light bulbs to help us read that fiction. In the following words, 空 means “unreality,” giving off the sense of an inventor’s dreaminess or visionary tendencies:
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Posted by Eve Kushner in Kanji Curiosity | No Comments »
