How to say “empty” in Chinese
empty
“Empty” in Chinese is 空, kōng: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
空 is read kōng. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On top, 穴 “hole”; below, 工 gōng hints at the sound.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “空”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 空. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 太热了开空调吧tàirèle,kāikōngtiáobaIt's too hot, let's turn on the AC.
- 请把空调关了qǐngbǎkōngtiáoguānlePlease turn off the air conditioner.
- 这个箱子是空的zhègexiāngzishìkōngdeThis box is empty.
- 你明天有空吗？nǐmíngtiānyǒukòngmaAre you free tomorrow?
- 有空2来我家玩吧yǒukòngláiwǒjiāwánbaCome over when you have time.
- 空调坏了，得找人来修。kōngtiáohuàile,děizhǎorénláixiūThe air conditioner is broken, we need to get someone to fix it.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Full and empty”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “empty” in Chinese?
“Empty” in Chinese is 空, pinyin kōng.
What does 空 mean?
空 (kōng) means “empty”.
How do you write 空?
空 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 空?
空 is read kōng. Tones: kōng — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“empty” in the lesson “Full and empty”
This word is from the topic “Home and neighborhood” of HSK 4. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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