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Kanji for Air

The kanji most commonly used for "Air" are 気、空、風.

Kanji that mean Air

  • air, spirit, feeling

    Onyomi: ke, ki Kunyomi: iki, ki 6 strokes Jōyō

  • sky, empty, to empty

    Onyomi: kuu Kunyomi: a.keru, a.ku, aki, kara, muna.shii, sora, su.ku, sukasu 8 strokes Jōyō

  • wind, custom, appearance

    Onyomi: fu, fuu Kunyomi: kaza, kaze 9 strokes Jōyō

  • space, air, midair

    Onyomi: chuu 8 strokes Jōyō

  • atmosphere, mood, air

    Onyomi: fun 12 strokes Jōyō

気 is air as atmosphere and as spirit at once. 空気 is the air you breathe, 天気 the weather, 雰囲気 the mood of a room — and the same character gives 元気 (vitality) and 気分 (how you feel). It is the broadest and most useful of the set. 氣 is its pre-war form, still written deliberately in martial arts contexts such as 合氣道.

風 is moving air: wind, as in 風が吹く. It also means style or manner (和風, Japanese-style), and 風邪, read kaze, is a common cold. 宙 is the air above the ground: 宙に浮く, to hang in mid-air, 宙返り, a somersault, and 宇宙, the universe. 雰 barely exists outside 雰囲気.

晒 and 曝 are ‘air’ as a verb — to air something out, to leave it exposed to sun and weather (晒す, sarasu). They describe exposure, not the air itself, and neither is used as a noun.

Words using Air kanji

Everyday Japanese vocabulary built from the characters above.

  • 人気 にんき Listen popularity; public favor; condition (e.g. market)
  • 空港 くうこう Listen airport
  • 風景 ふうけい Listen scenery; scene; landscape
  • 宇宙 うちゅう Listen universe; cosmos; space
  • 雰囲気 ふんいき Listen atmosphere; mood; ambience
  • 景気 けいき Listen business conditions; the market; economic activity
  • 航空 こうくう Listen aviation; flying
  • 風土 ふうど Listen natural features; topography; climate
  • 宇宙飛行士 うちゅうひこうし Listen astronaut

Before you use Air kanji

気 is the character to use: it reads as spirit and energy as much as air, which is usually what people are after. 風 alone reads as 'wind' or 'style'. 晒 and 曝 mean exposing something to the elements and will not be read as the noun 'air'.

Other meanings to explore

See all kanji by meaning →

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