虚荣
xūróng
The English word 'vain' is translated into Mandarin as 虚荣 (xūróng).
The term 虚荣 is used to describe someone who is overly proud of their appearance or social status.
Meaning: overly proud of one's appearance (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 虚 (xū), meaning empty or hollow and 荣 (róng), meaning glory or honor.
Which one should you use?
虚荣 refers specifically to vanity regarding appearance or status. This should not be confused with 徒劳, which means 'vain' in the sense of being futile or useless.
How does it change in a sentence?
To describe the psychological trait of vanity (the feeling or desire), you can add the suffix 心 (xīn), meaning 'heart' or 'mind', to create the noun 虚荣心. In natural speech, rather than using the adjective alone, it is very common to say 虚荣心强 (xūróng xīn qiáng), which literally means 'vanity heart is strong', to describe a person who has a strong sense of vanity.
How do you pronounce it?
xūróng
Did you know?
- The word 虚 (xū) is also used in the term 虚心 (xūxīn), which means 'modest'. Interestingly, while 虚 means 'empty' in 虚荣 to imply falsehood, it means 'empty' in 虚心 to imply a mind open and ready to learn.
- While 虚荣 describes vanity, the word 面子 (miànzi) or 'face' describes the social currency that fuels it. In Chinese culture, vanity is often less about personal pride and more about maintaining 'face' to avoid public shame.
- While 虚荣 describes vanity, the character 荣 also refers to the blooming of a flower, suggesting that vanity is like a fleeting, superficial flowering.
Examples in context
- 他的努力徒劳无功。His efforts are in vain.
- 她非常自恋，整天只顾自己。She's extremely vain, and only cares about herself all day long.
- 他是一个非常虚荣的人。Tā shì yígè fēicháng xūróng de rén.He is a very vain person.
- 不要为了虚荣心买那么多名牌。Búyào wèile xūróngxīn mǎi nàme duō míngpái.Don't buy so many luxury brands just for vanity.
- 她太虚荣了，只在意别人的看法。Tā tài xūróng le, zhǐ zàiyì biérén de kànfǎ.She is too vain, only caring about what others think.
Example conversation
A man and a woman are discussing a friend's expensive lifestyle.
- 浩然 Haoran他最近买了一辆超级跑车。Tā zuìjìn mǎile yí liàng chāojí pǎochē.He recently bought a super car.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen他这个人真的很虚荣。Tā zhège rén zhēn de hěn xūróng.He is really a vain person.
- 浩然 Haoran是啊，他总是想炫耀。Shì a, tā zǒngshì xiǎng xuànyào.Yeah, he's always trying to show off.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我不喜欢这种生活方式。Wǒ bù xǐhuan zhè zhǒng shēnghuó fāngshì.I don't like this kind of lifestyle.
