empty
empty — 形容詞
1. having nothing at all inside — for example, a room with no furniture, a pocket w
空的
內部沒有任何東西
having nothing at all inside — for example, a room with no furniture, a pocket with nothing in it, or a container that has had all its contents removed.
The kitchen cupboard was completely empty, so we had to go shopping.
廚房櫥櫃完全空的，所以我們得去買東西。
collocation: completely empty
Adisa opened his wallet and saw that it was completely empty.
Adisa 打開錢包，發現裡面完全是空的。
After the fire drill, the entire school building stood empty for almost an hour.
消防演習後，整棟校舍空了將近一個小時。
Takeshi noticed an empty seat by the window and sat down.
Takeshi 看到窗邊有個空位，便坐了下來。
The old house has been empty ever since the owner moved to Japan.
那棟老房子自從屋主搬到日本後就一直空著。
常見錯誤
2. describes words, promises, or actions that seem to say something but lack real f
空洞的
缺乏真實情感或意義
describes words, promises, or actions that seem to say something but lack real feeling, truth, or effect — for example, a promise the speaker never intends to keep, or a threat with no real force behind it.
The politician's promises sounded empty to voters who had heard them before.
那位政治人物的承諾在聽過多次的選民耳中顯得空洞。
collocation: empty promise
After the argument, Shirin's apology felt empty and insincere to everyone present.
爭吵過後，Shirin 的道歉聽起來空洞而不真誠。
structure: feel empty + adjective
Élise knew the boss's threat was empty — he would never actually fire anyone.
Élise 知道老闆的威脅是空洞的——他永遠不會真的開除任何人。
The company's talk about environmental care rang hollow and empty to critics.
該公司對環保的談話在批評者聽來空洞不實。
His speech was full of empty phrases that impressed nobody in the audience.
他的演講充滿空洞的詞彙，沒有打動任何聽眾。
- hollow
stronger emotional tone, suggesting something is not just insincere but also deceptive
- meaningless
focuses on the lack of value or significance rather than sincerity
- insincere
more direct about the intent to deceive
- sincere
the direct opposite — genuine and from the heart
- meaningful
full of real significance or purpose
- genuine
truly felt or intended
用法筆記
Commonly paired with nouns like promise, threat, words, gesture, or phrases. Not used for physical objects or spaces.
常見錯誤
3. feeling that life, time, or daily activities have no meaning, value, or goal — o
空虛的
缺乏意義或目標
feeling that life, time, or daily activities have no meaning, value, or goal — often after a sad or disappointing event such as a loss or a major change.
After losing his job at the factory, Vikram felt empty and purposeless for months.
在工廠失業後，Vikram 好幾個月都感到空虛且失去目標。
collocation: feel empty and purposeless
Liam's days felt empty after his best friend moved to another country.
Liam 的日子在他最好的朋友搬到另一個國家後變得空虛。
Linh stared at the wall, feeling empty inside after the funeral.
葬禮過後，Linh 盯著牆壁，內心感到空虛。
The divorce left Mauricio feeling empty, as if the best years of his life had passed.
離婚讓 Mauricio 感到空虛，彷彿人生最美好的年華已經逝去。
- hollow
more visceral, suggesting a painful void inside
- purposeless
focuses specifically on lack of direction or goal
- meaningless
emphasises that nothing seems to matter
- fulfilled
feeling satisfied and complete
- purposeful
having a clear sense of direction and meaning
用法筆記
Typically describes a person's emotional state or a period of time in their life. The subject is usually a person (I feel empty) or a period (my days felt empty). Not used for physical objects.
常見錯誤
empty — 動詞
1. to take out everything that is inside a container, room, or other space, so that
清空；倒空
取出內部所有物品
to take out everything that is inside a container, room, or other space, so that nothing remains — for example, emptying a cupboard by removing all its contents, or emptying a bottle by pouring out its liquid.
Rachel emptied the dishwasher and put the clean plates away.
Rachel 清空洗碗機，把乾淨的盤子收好。
transitive: empty + object (dishwasher)
The police asked everyone to empty their pockets onto the table.
警察要求所有人把口袋裡的東西倒在桌上。
pattern: empty + object + onto + surface
Christopher emptied the old water from the vase before adding fresh flowers.
Christopher 把花瓶裡的舊水倒掉，然後插上鮮花。
Ingrid emptied her suitcase onto the bed and began unpacking her clothes.
Ingrid 把行李箱清空倒在床上，開始整理衣物。
The movers emptied the entire apartment in less than three hours.
搬家工人不到三小時就清空了整間公寓。
文法句型
empty + noun (transitive)
empty + noun + out of/from + noun
empty + noun + into + noun
empty out + noun
用法筆記
Often used with the particle 'out' as a phrasal-verb-like structure (empty out the trash). For rooms or buildings, it implies removing all people or furniture.
常見錯誤
2. to gradually lose all the people or things inside a space or container, until no
變空
變得沒有人或物品在裡面
to gradually lose all the people or things inside a space or container, until nothing remains — for example, a room becomes empty as people leave, or a street becomes empty as traffic dies down.
The movie theater emptied quickly after the final scene ended.
電影院在最後一個場景結束後很快就空場了。
intransitive: subject empties + adverb of manner
The streets emptied as the storm warnings began to spread across the city.
隨著暴風雨警報開始傳播，街道上逐漸空無一人。
pattern: empty as/because + clause
The classroom emptied when the fire alarm started ringing loudly.
當火災警報大聲響起時，教室很快就空了。
The stadium emptied within fifteen minutes after the final whistle blew.
球場在終場哨音響起後十五分鐘內就空了。
The restaurant emptied around midnight when the kitchen closed.
餐廳在午夜廚房關閉時漸漸空了。
文法句型
empty + adverb/preposition
empty + time phrase
用法筆記
Frequently used with a time or manner adverb (emptied quickly, emptied within an hour). The subject is always a place or container — never a person.
常見錯誤
empty — 名詞
1. a bottle, can, or other container whose contents have all been used up, leaving
空瓶；空容器
已經用完的空容器
a bottle, can, or other container whose contents have all been used up, leaving nothing inside — typically used when talking about recycling or returning containers for a deposit.
Ilan collected all the empties from the party and took them to the recycling bin.
Ilan 收集了派對上的所有空瓶子，拿去回收桶。
plural form: empties + recycling context
The bartender collected all the empties from the counter after last call.
酒保把吧檯上所有的空瓶罐都收走了。
A neighbor stacked the empties in the garage until recycling day.
鄰居把空容器堆在車庫裡，等到回收日再處理。
The café had a large crate full of empties waiting for collection.
咖啡店裡有一大箱空瓶罐等著回收。
Workers loaded crates of empties onto the truck for the glass factory.
工人把一箱箱空瓶罐裝上卡車，運往玻璃工廠。
- empty bottle
more explicit; used when the type of container matters
- empty can
specifically for metal or aluminium drink containers
文法句型
plural: empties
用法筆記
In everyday conversation, this noun is most common in the plural form (empties). The singular (an empty) is possible but much less frequent. Often appears in contexts involving recycling, bar work, or returning deposit bottles.