The Japanese kanji for sky: 空

漢字 Kanji 10 of 40

The kanji for sky: 空

Sky, and the Buddhist idea of emptiness, 空 — the same character.

空
Meaning
sky; emptiness
Kun reading
sora (Japanese)
On reading
KŪ (from Chinese)
Strokes
8
Put 空 on a tee

書き順Stroke order

空 is written in 8 strokes, in this order. The red line is the new stroke at each step. Japanese is written top to bottom and left to right, and the order matters: it is what makes handwriting flow.

    Stroke data from KanjiVG by Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0.

    使い方In everyday Japanese

    Word Reading Meaning
    青空 aozora blue sky
    空港 kūkō an airport

    敬意Wearing it

    Sky, but also 'empty' (空室, a vacant room). Most people read it as sky; if you want no doubt, pair it with something.

    Every kanji in 5C5V Studio is checked for meaning and context. Read our Respect Notes.

    工房 Made just for you

    Wear 空

    Open 5C5V Studio, pick 空 from the kanji, choose a tee, hoodie, cap or beanie, and see it mocked up before you buy. Printed or embroidered, made to order.