How to say "fictitious" in Japanese

• 架空かくうJLPT N2approx.Common
  no-adjectiveThe word for 'fictitious' in its core sense of made-up or imaginary: a person, place, or thing that has been fabricated and has no real existence, existing only in the imagination.
  あなたは本当ほんとうに幽霊ゆうれいを見みたのではない。それは架空かくうのものでしかなかったのだ。↗

  You didn't really see a ghost―it was only imaginary.
• 仮かりCommon
  no-adjectiveNot the general word for imaginary things: it really means 'assumed' or 'provisional', and its 'fictitious' sense applies to names — an assumed name or alias used in place of a real one.

Use 架空 for the general sense of 'fictitious' — something invented or imaginary that has no real existence; use 仮 only for the name-related sense, an assumed name or alias.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 架空かくうfictitious
• 仮かりfictitious