1.
idle talk; empty talk; baseless chatter
Talk that is without substance, basis, or sincerity. Words that amount to nothing or lead nowhere.
空話ばかり言うな。
Stop talking nonsense.
会議は空話に終わり、何も決まらなかった。
The meeting ended in idle talk and nothing was decided.
彼の約束はいつも空話で、信用できない。
His promises are always empty talk, and he can't be trusted.
2.
tall tale; fabricated story; made-up story
A story that is exaggerated or entirely made up, told to impress or entertain but not grounded in truth.
酒の席で空話をする。
To tell tall tales over drinks.
おじいちゃんの空話は面白いが、どこまで本当かわからない。
Grandpa's tall tales are entertaining, but it's hard to tell how much is true.
子供たちに空話を聞かせて楽しませた。
He amused the children by telling them made-up stories.
Composed of 空 (empty, hollow) and 話 (talk, story). The 空 here is the same as in 空っぽ (empty) and 空振り (a miss, a swing and miss), conveying the sense of being without substance.
The word can also be read as くうわ, which has a more formal and literary tone, though からばなし is the more common native Japanese reading.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 空話に終わる: to end up as empty talk
- 空話を言う: to talk idly; to make empty promises
- 空話ばかり: nothing but idle talk
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 無駄話: idle chatter — emphasis on wasting time rather than being baseless
- 世間話: small talk — neutral; not necessarily empty or baseless
- 作り話: made-up story; fabrication — specifically about invention
- 大袈裟: exaggeration — describes the manner of telling rather than the content