Definition
架空 has two main verb senses. The literal one means 'to build on stilts / suspend in the air' — you physically raise something above ground. The far more common figurative sense means 'to sideline someone's authority' — effectively making them a figurehead with no real power, common in organizational or political contexts. A third extended use describes creating a fictional, fabricated setting (like 架空历史 'alternate history'), where the verb implies constructing an imaginary world.
v.
to build on stiltsto suspend in the air (literally)to sideline someone's powerto make someone a figurehead (figuratively)to fabricateto create a fictional setting (e.g. in literature)
Examples
- 架空。Zhè zuò gǔchéng yǒu yì céng jià kōng zài shuǐmiàn shàng de zhàndào.This ancient city has a boardwalk suspended above the water.
- 架空。Xīn lái de jīnglǐ hěn kuài jiù bèi lǎo yuángōng jià kōng le.The new manager was quickly sidelined by the veteran employees.
- 架空。Tā xǐhuan zài xiǎoshuō lǐ jià kōng yí gè quánxīn de shìjiè.He likes to fabricate a completely new world in his novels.
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