虚像

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 虚像 is a noun read きょぞう, meaning a virtual image seen where light does not actually converge or, figuratively, a constructed illusion about someone.
• Basic usage: It can refer to locating a virtual image in a mirror or the collapse of a heroic image created by an article.
  • 鏡に映る虚像の位置を実験で確かめた。 says that an experiment was used to confirm the position of the virtual image in a mirror; 記事が作り上げた英雄の虚像はやがて崩れた。 says that the heroic illusion created by the article eventually collapsed.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 鏡に映る虚像
  • に映る identifies the virtual image as the optical image visible in the mirror.
• 英雄の虚像が崩れる
  • Figuratively, this means that the constructed image of a hero could no longer be maintained.
• 虚像 and 実像
  • 虚像 appears where light does not actually converge, while 実像 is formed by converging light and can be projected onto a screen.