空气 (kōng qì) — air | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

空气 refers to the physical air around us (what we breathe). Compare 气, which means 'air/gas' as a substance and also 'smell' or 'anger' — 空气 is the everyday compound for breathable air.

noun

air

Examples

空气。
Zǎo shàng qǐ lái xiān kāi chuāng huàn kōng qì.
First open the window to let in fresh air after waking up.
空气。
Pǎo bù de shí hou yào duō hū xī xīn kōng qì.
When running you should breathe more fresh air.
空气。
Zhè lǐ de kōng qì wū rǎn hěn yán zhòng.
The air pollution here is very serious.

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.

From 空 (sky) and 气 (gas), naming the gas that fills the sky.

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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

气米氣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

气qì氣qì

Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 HSK 2.0 Level 4 Materials & Substances 2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.