空中 (kōng zhōng) — the sky; the air; aerial; airborne | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

空中 (kōng zhōng) means 'in the sky / aerial' and works as both a noun and an adjective modifying other words (空中交通, 空中救援). More specific than 天空 — it emphasizes airspace, not just the sky above.

the skythe airaerialairborne

Examples

，空中。
Wǎn shàng, kōng zhōng yǒu hěn duō xīng xing.
There are many stars in the sky at night.
，空中。
Suí zhe kē jì fā zhǎn, kōng zhōng jiāo tōng yuè lái yuè zhòng yào.
With the development of technology, air traffic is becoming more and more important.
空中。
Yì zhī xiǎo niǎo zài kōng zhōng gāo gāo de fēi.
A little bird is flying high in the sky.

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.

中zhōngmiddle

From 空 (sky) and 中 (middle), meaning the middle of the sky, hence in the air.

Characters in this word

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.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 Sky & Space 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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