空 meaning and stroke order
Empty; air; sky
How to write 空, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Meaning of 空
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- empty
- air
- sky
- in vain
- to empty
- vacant
- unoccupied
- space
- leisure
- free time
How 空 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Cave.
穴 gives the meaning and 工 hints at the sound.
Radical: 穴 (cave), shared by 46 characters on this site.
How to remember 空
空 is made of 穴 (cave) on top and 工 (gōng) below. Picture a cave with nothing inside, just hollow space, and let 工 remind you of the sound kōng.
In the first tone, kōng means empty or sky and appears in words like 空气 (kōngqì) air and 天空 (tiānkōng) sky. In the fourth tone, kòng means free time or a blank space, as in 有空 (yǒukòng) to be free. Example: 你明天有空吗？(Nǐ míngtiān yǒu kòng ma?) Are you free tomorrow?
Common mistake: Learners often say yǒu kōng with the first tone, but free time is kòng with the fourth tone. Also do not confuse 空 with 穷 (qióng, poor), which has the same 穴 top but 力 underneath.
Common words with 空
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 空气 | kōngqì | air; atmosphere | HSK 2 |
| 有空儿 | yǒukòngr | erhua form of 有空[you3 kong4] | HSK 2 |
| 天空 | tiānkōng | sky | HSK 3 |
| 空调 | kōngtiáo | air conditioning; air conditioner (including units that have a heating mode) | HSK 3 |
| 空儿 | kòngr | spare time; free time | HSK 3 |
| 空间 | kōngjiān | space; room; (fig.) scope; leeway | HSK 4 |
| 航空 | hángkōng | aviation | HSK 4 |
| 填空 | tiánkòng | to fill a job vacancy; to fill in a blank (e.g. on a form, questionnaire or exam paper) | HSK 4 |
| 太空 | tàikōng | outer space | HSK 5 |
| 空中 | kōngzhōng | in the sky; in the air | HSK 5 |
| 空军 | kōngjūn | air force; (slang) to fail to catch anything (on a fishing trip); to get skunked | HSK 6 |
| 上空 | shàngkōng | the skies above a certain place; (aviation) airspace; (Tw) topless | HSK 7-9 |
| 空虚 | kōngxū | hollow; emptiness | HSK 7-9 |
| 时空 | shíkōng | time and place; world of a particular locale and era | HSK 7-9 |
空 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 空
Learning 空 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 空
How many strokes are in 空?
空 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 空 mean?
空 (kōng) means empty; air; sky. A common word with it is 空气 (kōngqì), meaning "air; atmosphere".
How do you pronounce 空?
空 is pronounced kōng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 空?
The radical of 空 is 穴, which carries the idea of "cave". Dictionaries list 空 under this radical.
Is 空 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 空 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
How do I know whether to read 空 as kōng or kòng?
Use kōng when the meaning is empty, air, sky or in vain, as in 空气 and 航空. Use kòng when it means free time, a gap or a blank to fill, as in 有空儿 and 填空.
How do I say something is empty, like an empty bottle?
Put 空 (kōng) before the noun or use it as a predicate. For example, 空瓶子 (kōng píngzi) means an empty bottle, and 房间是空的 (fángjiān shì kōng de) means the room is empty.