宙
宙 — Mid-air
mid-air, air, space, sky, memorization, interval of time
On’yomiチュウ (chuu)
Kun’yomi—
Stroke order (8 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 宙
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 宇宙 | うちゅう uchuu | universe; cosmos; space |
| 宇宙飛行士 | うちゅうひこうし uchuuhikoushi | astronaut |
| 宙 | ちゅう chuu | space; air; midair |
| 宇宙開発事業団 | うちゅうかいはつじぎょうだん uchuukaihatsujigyoudan | National Space Development Agency; NASDA |
| 宇宙開発 | うちゅうかいはつ uchuukaihatsu | space development; space exploration |
| 宇宙空間 | うちゅうくうかん uchuukuukan | (outer) space |
Study notes
宙 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 8 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1005 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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