Onyomi: クウ · Kunyomi: あ.き, あ.く, あ.ける, から, す.かす, す.く, そら, むな.しい · Meanings: empty, sky, vacant, vacuum, void
Kanji for empty, sky, vacant, vacuum, void
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Find visually similar kanji, commonly confused characters, related meanings, and useful words connected to 空.
The kanji 空 combines the “roof” radical (宀) with elements representing nothingness or air beneath, symbolizing the sky or empty space. In ancient times, it represented the open sky, heavens, or void. 空 came to mean sky, empty, or hollow, capturing openness, freedom, and vastness.
A roof over empty space — 空 means sky, empty, or hollow.
Imagine looking up at the vast, open sky — that’s 空, the kanji for sky and emptiness.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 空 | そら | sky, the air, the heavens | common JLPT-N5 Noun |
| 空 | から | emptiness, being empty | common JLPT-N3 Noun, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |
| 空 | くう | empty air, sky | Noun |
| 虚 | うろ | hollow, cavity, hole | Noun |
| 空港 | くうこう | airport | common JLPT-N4 Noun |
| 開ける | あける | to open (a door, etc.), to unwrap (e.g. parcel, package), to unlock | common JLPT-N3 JLPT-N5 Ichidan verb, Transitive verb |
| 空想 | くうそう | daydream, fantasy, fancy, vision | common JLPT-N2 Noun, Suru verb, Transitive verb, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |
| 空気 | くうき | air, atmosphere | common JLPT-N4 Noun |
| 空き | あき | space, room, gap, emptiness | common JLPT-N3 JLPT-N2 Noun |
| 空中 | くうちゅう | sky, air, mid-air | common JLPT-N2 Noun |