空
Mnemonic
A carpenter rips up a floorboard and discovers a gaping hole beneath. He peers in and gasps — it's completely empty. No soil, no pipes, just an infinite open sky yawning below him. Vertigo hits as the emptiness swallows every sound. The carpenter crawls away, trembling at the void.
Additional thoughts
The hole opens into the sky itself, linking both core meanings of the kanji: emptiness and sky/heavens. Picture the carpenter frozen at the edge, staring into a bottomless expanse of nothing.Quick recall
A carpenter finds a hole that's terrifyingly empty — nothing but endless sky below.Details
The keyword for 空 is empty. This kanji conveys the concept of emptiness, hollowness, or a void — the state of having nothing inside. By extension, it also refers to the sky or the heavens, as the sky appears as a vast, empty expanse stretching overhead. It can further imply something done in vain or without substance, reinforcing the core idea of lacking content or purpose.
- On'yomi
- くう
- Kun'yomi
- そら、あ.く、あ.き、あ.ける、から、す.く、す.かす、むな.しい