空 (kōng): empty, sky
空 (kōng) is a Chinese character meaning “empty, sky.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 穴 (semantic) and 工 (phonetic). It ranks #272 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 空 cave. Its radical form 穴 (cave) appears in many related characters such as 穿 (chuān, to wear, 穿透), 突 (tū, sudden), 究 (jiū, research).
Definitions
- empty, sky
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 空 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 空
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 空间noun | kōng jiān | space | 5 |
| 空气noun | kōng qì | air | 4 |
| 太空noun | tài kōng | outer space | 6 |
| 天空noun | tiān kōng | sky | 5 |
| 空中noun/adjective | kōng zhōng | in the sky | 5 |
| 航空verb | háng kōng | aviation | 6 |
| 空调noun | kōng tiáo | air conditioning | 3 |
| 空地noun | kōng dì | air-to-surface (missile) | 6 |
| 空闲adjective/noun | kòng xián | leisure | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 有空verb | yǒu kòng | to have time (to do sth) |
| 空军noun | kōng jūn | air force |
| 时空noun | shí kōng | time and place |
| 空白noun | kòng bái | blank space |
| 空手verb | kōng shǒu | empty-handed |
| 空虚adjective | kōng xū | hollow |
| 太空船noun | tài kōng chuán | spaceship |
| 上空 | shàng kōng | the skies above a certain place |
| 凭空 | píng kōng | baseless (lie) |
| 空姐noun | kōng jiě | stewardess |
| 空缺noun | kòng quē | vacancy |
| 抽空verb | chōu kòng | to find the time to do sth |
| 空袭noun | kōng xí | to make an air raid |
| 高空noun | gāo kōng | high altitude |
| 空洞noun | kōng dòng | cavity |
空 appears in 112 compound words: 52 as the first character, 42 as the last, and 6 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 空 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (45)
bare-handed and unarmed; without any reliance; without anything to rely on
to overturn empty convention, and display originality (idiom); new and different ideas
the sea and the sky is expansive and boundless; bold and unconstrained
(lit.) the sound of footsteps in a deserted valley (idiom); (fig.) sth hard to come by; sth wonderful and rare
bare-handed and unarmed; without any reliance; without anything to rely on
(lit.) the sound of footsteps in a deserted valley (idiom); (fig.) sth hard to come by; sth wonderful and rare
Showing 12 of 45 idioms containing 空.
Example Sentences
这个房间空荡荡的，什么家具都没有。
Zhè gè fángjiān kōngdàngdàng de, shénme jiājù dōu méiyǒu.
This room is empty; there is no furniture at all.
视频丨空间站的年夜饭都有什么?听航天员报菜名收祝...
shì pín 丨 kōng jiān zhàn de nián yè fàn dū yǒu shén má ? yǐn háng tiān yuán bào cài míng shōu zhù . . .
Video 丨What's for New Year's Eve dinner on the space station? The astronauts will be able to tell you the names of the dishes and receive congratulations...
请停留3秒 为这5位空军勇士献花!今天是万家团圆的..
qǐng tíng liú miǎo wéi zhè wèi kōng jūn yǒng shì xiàn huā ! jīn tiān shì mò jiā tuán yuán de . .
Please stay for 3 seconds to lay flowers for these 5 Air Force warriors! Today is the day of family reunion...
大湾区航空飞往台北航班遇大雾盘旋后折返,航司回应:...
dà wān ōu háng kōng fēi wǎng tái běi háng bān yù dà wù pán xuán hòu shé fǎn , háng sī huí yīng . . .
A Greater Bay Area Airlines flight to Taipei encountered heavy fog, circled, and then returned. The airline responded:...
抖音集团李亮:炒作“字节是恒科的最大空头”很荒唐也..
dǒu yīn jí tuán lǐ liàng chǎo zuò zì jié shì héng kē de zuì dà kōng tóu hěn huāng táng yě . .
Li Liang of Douyin Group: Hyping "ByteDance is Hengke's biggest short seller" is utterly absurd and...
美空军宣布新“空军一号”总统专机将启用新涂装...
měi kōng jūn xuān bù xīn kōng jūn yī háo zǒng tǒng zhuān jī jiāng qǐ yòng xīn tú zhuāng . . .
The U.S. Air Force announced that the new "Air Force One" presidential aircraft will feature a new livery...
你怎么在太空里找到食物？
Nǐ zěnme zài tàikōng lǐ zhǎodào shíwù?
How do you find food in outer space?
顺便问一句，你今晚有空吗？
Shùnbiàn wèn yījù, nǐ jīnwǎn yǒu kòng ma?
By the way, are you free tonight?
小姐，今天晚上有没有空房间？
Xiǎojie, jīntiān wǎnshang yǒuméiyǒu kōngfángjiān?
Miss, are there any available rooms for tonight?
您空闲时间喜欢做什么？
Nín kòngxián shíjiān xǐhuan zuò shénme?
What do you like to do in your free time?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 穴 (cave) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 空 (kōng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 空 and 饱?
How many strokes does 空 have?
What is the radical of 空?
What are the components of 空?
What are common words containing 空?
Is 空 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 空 with real-time feedback
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