上空 (shàng kōng) — the sky above; overhead | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

上空 (shàng kōng) names the stretch of sky directly above a specific place or object — more locational than the general 天空 or 天上. Pairs with verbs of movement or events happening overhead.

noun

the sky aboveoverhead

Examples

上空。
Yì qún dà yàn cóng shàng kōng fēi guò.
A flock of wild geese flew overhead.
上空。
Huǒ jiàn zài shàng kōng bào zhà le.
The rocket exploded in the sky above.
上空。
Wú rén jī zài shàng kōng pāi shè zhěng gè chéng shì.
The drone was filming the entire city from above.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

The upper position of 上 with 空 as sky gives the space overhead.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

穴工空

Meaning part形符xíngfú

穴穴xuécave, hole

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

工gōng空kōng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

空 is built from 穴, a cave or hole, and 工, which gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Sky & Space

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