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空 — to empty; vacant; unoccupied

to empty; vacant; unoccupied; space; leisure; free time

Pinyin
kòng · kōng
Strokes
8
HSK level
HSK 3
Handwriting
required

This character has more than one reading — kòng, kōng — and the pronunciation depends on the word it appears in. The list below gives the syllabus reading for each word.

How to write 空: 8 strokes

Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. This character is on the HSK handwriting list, so the exam expects you to write it, not only recognise it.

空 — 8 strokes, in writing order from left to right.

Build a printable practice sheet with 空

Words with 空 in the HSK syllabus: 27

Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.

  1. 空调kōngtiáoair conditioning; air conditionerHSK 3
  2. 空kōngto empty; vacant; unoccupied; space; leisureHSK 4
  3. 空气kōngqìair; atmosphereHSK 4
  4. 空kòngto empty; vacant; unoccupied; space; leisureHSK 4
  5. 空间kōngjiānspace; room; scope; leeway; outer space; spaceHSK 5
  6. 空中kōngzhōngin the sky; in the airHSK 5
  7. 天空tiānkōngskyHSK 5
  8. 航空hángkōngaviationHSK 6
  9. 空地kòngdìvacant land; open spaceHSK 6
  10. 空闲kòngxiánleisure; spare time; free; unoccupiedHSK 6
  11. 太空tàikōngouter spaceHSK 6
  12. 高空gāokōnghigh altitudeHSK 7–9
  13. 空荡荡kōngdàngdàngempty; desertedHSK 7–9
  14. 空洞kōngdòngcavity; empty; vacuousHSK 7–9
  15. 空间站kōngjiānzhànspace stationHSK 7–9
  16. 空军kōngjūnair force; to fail to catch anything; to get skunkedHSK 7–9
  17. 空难kōngnànair crash; aviation accident or incidentHSK 7–9
  18. 空前kōngqiánunprecedentedHSK 7–9
  19. 空想kōngxiǎngdaydream; fantasy; to fantasizeHSK 7–9
  20. 空虚kōngxūhollow; emptiness; meaninglessHSK 7–9
  21. 空白kòngbáiblank spaceHSK 7–9
  22. 空隙kòngxìcrack; gap between two objectsHSK 7–9
  23. 上空shàngkōngthe skies above a certain place; airspace; toplessHSK 7–9
  24. 时空shíkōngtime and place; world of a particular locale and eraHSK 7–9
  25. 司空见惯sīkōng-jiànguàna common occurrenceHSK 7–9
  26. 真空zhēnkōngvacuum; vacuum; to not wear underwearHSK 7–9
  27. 钻空子zuān kòngzito take advantage of a loophole; to exploit an advantage; to seize the opportunityHSK 7–9

Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.