tài kōng
the firmament; outer space
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中国第一个进入太空的人是杨利伟。
Zhōngguó dì yī gè jìnrù tàikōng de rén shì Yáng Lìwěi.
The first person from China to go into space was Yang Liwei.
太空是一个非常神秘的地方。
Tàikōng shì yī gè fēicháng shénmì de dìfāng.
Space is a very mysterious place.
我想去太空旅行。
Wǒ xiǎng qù tàikōng lǚxíng.
I want to go on a space trip.
宇宙 (yǔzhòu)
universe
太空 (tàikōng)
space
地面 (dìmiàn)
ground
地球 (dìqiú)
earth
The Chinese word 太空 (tàikōng) for "space" is composed of two characters: 太 (tài) and 空 (kōng). 太 originally meant "great" or "supreme", and was often used in ancient Chinese to refer to the sky or the heavens. 空, on the other hand, means "empty" or "void". When combined, 太空 literally means "great emptiness" or "supreme void", which is a fitting description for the vastness and emptiness of space.The term 太空 was first used in the 19th century to translate the Western concept of "space". It quickly gained popularity and is now the standard Chinese word for "space". The term is also used in other East Asian languages, such as Japanese (宇宙, uchū) and Korean (우주, uju).
