The sky or the space of air above the earth—what you see as blue sky, clouds, etc.
夕方、空が赤く染まってとてもきれいだった。
In the evening the sky turned red and it was very beautiful.
飛行機が空高く飛んでいるのが見えた。
I saw an airplane flying high in the sky.
今日は空が澄んでいるから星がよく見えるだろう。
The sky is clear today, so you'll probably see the stars well.
The weather or the state of the sky; historically ‘空’ could be used to refer to weather conditions.
空が怪しいので、外出する前に天気予報を確認した。
The sky looked ominous, so I checked the weather forecast before going out.
A distant or far-off place; an archaic meaning often found in poetry or classical literature.
古い和歌では『空』が遠い国や彼方を意味することがある。
In old waka poetry, 'sora' can mean a faraway country or the beyond.
An older usage meaning a state of mind or feeling (seen in expressions like '〜空もない'); in modern Japanese it's used only in limited contexts.
古い文献にある『〜空もない』という表現は、当時の心境を表している。
The expression '〜sora mo nai' found in old texts reflects the mindset of the time.
By memory; speaking or reciting without referring to written material. Often used as '空で' meaning 'from memory'.
彼はその古い詩を空で暗唱した。
He recited that old poem from memory.
An archaic sense referring to falsehood or emptiness; rarely used in modern Japanese.
古い文章の中で『空』が嘘や虚偽を示す例がいくつか見られる。
There are examples in old texts where 'sora' denotes falsehood or emptiness.
A prefixal, archaic use placed before adjectives to indicate vagueness or a 'somehow' quality.
古語では『空』が形容詞の前に付いて漠然とした意味を添えることがあった。
In archaic usage, 'sora' was attached before adjectives to add a vague nuance.
A prefixal use that adds a sense of falseness or imitation when attached to a noun or verb (historical/limited usage).
古い語例では『空』が語の前に付いて『偽りの〜』のような意味を表すことがある。
In old examples, 'sora' can be prefixed to words to mean 'false' or 'pseudo-'.