Meaning of 空中
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- in the sky
- in the air
How to use 空中
空中 usually describes where something is, often after 在 (zài) or before 的 (de). It is common with flying, floating, or hanging things. Example: 鸟在空中飞。(Niǎo zài kōngzhōng fēi.) Birds fly in the sky.
空 (kōng) means empty space or sky, and 中 (zhōng) means middle or inside. Put them together and you get "in the middle of the empty space", which is in the sky or in the air.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 空 with the fourth tone, kòng, as in 有空 (yǒu kòng, to have free time). In 空中 it is first tone, kōng. Also, do not read 中 as fourth tone zhòng here. It stays first tone, zhōng.
空中 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
空 kōng · empty · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
中 zhōng · within · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 空中.
| 中国 | Zhōngguó | China |
| 中间 | zhōngjiān | the middle; the inside; in the middle; within; between; among |
| 中午 | zhōngwǔ | noon; midday |
| 中学 | zhōngxué | middle school |
| 中文 | Zhōngwén | Chinese language |
| 中学生 | zhōngxuéshēng | middle-school student; high school student |
| 其中 | qízhōng | among; in |
| 中心 | zhōngxīn | center; heart; core |
| 高中 | gāozhōng | senior high school (abbr. for 高級中學|高级中学[gao1 ji2 zhong1 xue2]) |
| 空气 | kōngqì | air; atmosphere |
| 心中 | xīnzhōng | central point; in one's thoughts |
| 中年 | zhōngnián | middle age |
Questions about 空中
What does 空中 mean?
空中 (kōngzhōng) means "in the sky; in the air" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 空中?
空中 is made of 2 characters: 空 (8 strokes), 中 (4 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 空中 an HSK word?
Yes. 空中 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 空中 and 天上?
Both can mean in the sky. 天上 (tiānshang) is more casual and often points to the sky above us, like stars or clouds. 空中 focuses on the air as a space and fits things like planes, balls, or dust floating in the air.
Can 空中 be used in compound words?
Yes. It appears in words like 空中小姐 (kōngzhōng xiǎojiě), an older term for flight attendant, and 空中花园 (kōngzhōng huāyuán), a rooftop or sky garden. In these it means something in or related to the air.