Japanese symbol for “midair”

空中

くうちゅう

Romaji: kuuchuu

(in) the air; midair; sky

In Japanese, midair is 空中, read くうちゅう (kuuchuu).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

n (in) the air; midair; sky

Kanji and stroke order

空

empty, sky, void

on: クウ
kun: そら、あ.く、あ.き、あ.ける

8 strokes · JLPT 4

中

in, inside, middle

on: チュウ
kun: なか、うち、あた.る

4 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “midair”

Word	Reading	Meaning
宙	ちゅう chuu	space; air; midair
宙空	ちゅうくう chuukuu	(in) the air; midair; sky

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
空気	くうき kuuki	air; atmosphere
空港	くうこう kuukou	airport
空間	くうかん kuukan	space; room; airspace
航空	こうくう koukuu	aviation; flying
航空機	こうくうき koukuuki	aircraft
中心	ちゅうしん chuushin	center; centre; middle
途中	とちゅう tochuu	on the way; en route
中央	ちゅうおう chuuou	centre; center; middle

See also: Chinese symbol for “midair”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.