1.
lie; falsehood; false statement
A deliberately untrue statement. A formal word implying intentional deception, often used in legal, medical, or serious contexts.
虚言を弄する。
To tell lies.
彼の証言は虚言だと判明した。
His testimony was found to be a lie.
虚言癖のある人は、自分でも嘘と本当の区別がつかなくなることがある。
People with a tendency to lie may eventually lose the ability to distinguish their own lies from the truth.
A formal, literary word for lying. Composed of 虚 (empty, false) + 言 (words, speech). More severe in tone than the everyday word 嘘.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 虚言を弄する: to utter falsehoods (formal)
- 虚言癖: a habit of lying; pathological lying
- 虚言症: mythomania, pathological lying (clinical term)
- 虚言を吐く: to tell lies
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 嘘: lie — the standard everyday word; used in all registers from casual to formal
- 偽り: falsehood, deception — literary; implies deliberate deception with a broader scope than just words
- 虚偽: falsehood, untruth — formal/legal; often used for false documents or statements (虚偽申告: false declaration)
NOTE:
Do not confuse with the homophone 狂言, which refers to a traditional Japanese comedic theater form. The readings are close but the pitch accent and kanji are different.