1.
virtual image (optics)
In optics, an image formed where light rays appear to diverge from but do not actually pass through. The image seen in a flat mirror is a virtual image.
鏡に映るのは虚像だ。
What is reflected in a mirror is a virtual image.
凸レンズでは実像と虚像の両方ができる。
With a convex lens, both real and virtual images can be formed.
理科の授業で虚像と実像の違いを学んだ。
I learned the difference between virtual and real images in science class.
2.
false image; fabricated persona
A false or idealized image of a person or thing that does not reflect reality. Often used to describe a public persona or reputation that differs from who someone truly is.
メディアが作り上げた虚像にすぎない。
It is nothing more than a false image created by the media.
彼の成功者としての虚像が崩れた。
His fabricated image as a successful person crumbled.
虚像と実像の差が大きい政治家は、やがて信頼を失う。
Politicians with a large gap between their public image and their true selves eventually lose trust.
USAGE:
A compound of 虚 (empty, false) + 像 (image). Has both a scientific meaning in optics and a figurative meaning referring to a false persona. In both senses, it contrasts with 実像 (real image / true picture).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 虚像と実像 (virtual and real image; false and true image)
- 虚像を作り上げる (to fabricate a false image)
- 虚像が崩れる (a false image crumbles)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 実像: real image / true picture — the opposite in both senses
- 幻影: illusion, phantom — emphasizes something that is not really there