空くう中ちゅう

く

う

ちゅ

う

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

in the air; midair; sky

Refers to the space above the ground, often used in contexts of flying, floating, or being suspended.

〈物もの〉が空くう中ちゅうに浮うくfor something to float in midair
風ふう船せんが空くう中ちゅうに浮ういている。
The balloon is floating in the air.
〈物もの〉を空くう中ちゅうに投なげるto throw something up into the air
彼かれはボールを空くう中ちゅうに投なげた。
He threw the ball into the air.
空くう中ちゅうで静せい止しするto hover motionless in midair
ヘリコプターが空くう中ちゅうで静せい止しした。
The helicopter hovered in place in the air.

空そらN5
空 is the general word for the sky itself, while 空中 emphasizes the space above the ground where things float, fly, or hang suspended.
上じょう空くうN1
上空 refers specifically to the sky directly above a given location (often in weather or aviation contexts), while 空中 is the more general term for airborne space.

地ち上じょうN1
地上 means on the ground or earth's surface, the direct opposite of 空中, which means up in the air.
海かい中ちゅう
空中 means 'in the air', the opposite domain from 海中's 'in the sea'.
陸りく上じょうN1
陸上 refers to being on land, whereas 空中 refers to being in the air, a common three-way contrast with 海上.

中ちゅう空くう
中空 (with the kanji reversed) usually means 'hollow' (like a hollow tube), though it can also mean midair, so learners must not confuse it with 空中, which specifically means 'in the air'.

空くう中ちゅう戦せん
air battle; dogfight · aerial battle (sports)
空くう中ちゅう権けん
air rights
空くう中ちゅう線せん
antenna
空くう中ちゅう写しゃ真しん
aerial photograph
空くう中ちゅう分ぶん解かい
mid-air disintegration; breaking apart in mid-air · falling apart; collapse; breakdown

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Compound of 空 (kuu, 'sky, empty') and 中 (chuu, 'inside, middle'). The reading is on'yomi, and the word is a straightforward Sino-Japanese compound.