How to say “air” in Chinese

空气

kōngqì

air

noun · HSK 4 · topic “Ecology and technology”

“Air” in Chinese is 空气, kōng qì: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.

How to pronounce it

空气 is read kōng qì: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

kōng — 1st tonehigh and level, like a long note

qì — 4th tonesharply falling, like “Stop!”

How to write it

空

kōng — empty; air

On top, 穴 “hole”; below, 工 gōng hints at the sound.

气

qì — air, spirit

In 不客气 it is read with the neutral tone: qi.

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 “空气”.

Examples

Sentences from the course lessons with 空气. Tap the sound icon to listen.

山上的空气很新鲜。shānshangdekōngqìhěnxīnxiānThe air in the mountains is fresh.
空气污染危害人们的健康。kōngqìwūrǎnwēihàirénmendejiànkāngAir pollution harms people’s health.
没有空气火就不能燃烧méiyǒukōngqì,huǒjiùbùnéngránshāoWithout air, fire can't burn.
清晨的公园很安静，空气也特别新鲜。qīngchéndegōngyuánhěnānjìng,kōngqìyětèbiéxīnxiānIn the early morning the park is quiet and the air is especially fresh.
暴雨过后，空气格外新鲜。bàoyǔguòhòu,kōngqìgéwàixīnxiānAfter the downpour the air is especially fresh.
今天空气湿度很大jīntiānkōngqìshīdùhěndàThe air humidity is high today.

More words from the lesson “Air and garbage”

Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “air” in Chinese?

“Air” in Chinese is 空气, pinyin kōngqì.

What does 空气 mean?

空气 (kōngqì) means “air”.

How do you write 空气?

空气 is 2 characters: 空 (kōng) — empty; air; 气 (qì) — air, spirit. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 空气?

空气 is read kōngqì. Tones: kōng — first tone, qì — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“air” in the lesson “Air and garbage”

This word is from the topic “Ecology and technology” 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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