空気

くうき

atmosphere, air

Mnemonic

An empty space with the steam that rises through it anyway. Out past the last farm you take a lungful and it is better than the cookie くうき you brought with you: くうき.

Worth knowing

Also the air in a room in the social sense: 空気を読むくうきをよむ is reading the mood.

Built from

空

sky, empty

穴 hole + 工 carpenter's square

気

spirit, energy

Steam rising off something. The old form had rice giving off vapour.

Words sharing these kanji

空 sky, weather 空間 space, room 空く to become available or vacant 空く to be empty, to become less crowded 元気 energetic, healthy 気持ち feeling, sensation 気 spirit, temperament 気付く to realize, to notice 気分 mood, feeling 本気 seriousness 雰囲気 atmosphere, mood 気配 indication, sign

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Emaki is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Kaishi 1.5k or its authors. The word, reading and meaning come from the Kaishi 1.5k deck, used with their permission. The mnemonic, the note and the kanji breakdown are original work, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.