宙(ちゅう)

ちゅう
noun
midair; space, the sky
place
1. midair, the air
The space above the ground, between the earth and the sky. Often used in expressions describing things floating, hanging, or suspended.
ボールが宙(ちゅう)に浮(う)いた。
The ball floated in midair.
彼(かれ)は宙(ちゅう)に放(ほう)り出(だ)された。
He was thrown into the air.
足(あし)が地面(じめん)から離(はな)れ、体(からだ)が宙(ちゅう)に浮(う)いている感覚(かんかく)がした。
My feet left the ground and I felt my body floating in midair.
2. space, the universe, the sky
Outer space or the sky above. Appears in compound words related to space and the cosmos.
宙(ちゅう)を見上(みあ)げる。
To look up at the sky.
宙(ちゅう)を見(み)つめる。
To stare into space.
彼女(かのじょ)はしばらく宙(ちゅう)を見(み)つめたまま、何(なに)も言(い)わなかった。
For a while she just stared into space and said nothing.

Usage

Most commonly encountered in the expression 宙(ちゅう)に浮(う)く (to float in midair) and the idiom 宙(ちゅう)ぶらりん (left hanging, unsettled). As a standalone word, 宙(ちゅう) primarily means midair. Its space meaning is most productive in compounds like 宇宙(うちゅう) (universe/space).

The expression 宙返(ちゅうがえ)り means 'somersault' or 'midair flip.'

Common collocations

  • 宙(ちゅう)に浮(う)く: to float in midair
  • 宙(ちゅう)ぶらりん: left hanging, in limbo
  • 宙返(ちゅうがえ)り: somersault, midair flip
  • 宙(ちゅう)吊(づ)り: suspended in midair
general
Added 2026.2.22 14:21 · Revised 2026.10.13 16:39
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