không khí

See also: khong-khì

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 空氣, composed of 空 (“void; empty”) and 氣 (“gas”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [xəwŋ͡m˧˧ xi˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kʰəwŋ͡m˧˧ kʰɪj˨˩˦] ~ [xəwŋ͡m˧˧ xɪj˨˩˦]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [kʰəwŋ͡m˧˧ kʰɪj˦˥] ~ [xəwŋ͡m˧˧ xɪj˦˥]

• Audio (Hồ Chí Minh City)

  (file)

Noun

(classifier bầu) không khí

1. air (mixture of gases making up the atmosphere of the Earth)

   Không khí chứa nhiều loại khí như ni-tơ, ô-xi và các-bon đi-ô-xít.

   Air contains different gases, such as nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide.

2. the air or atmosphere of a place, especially one that is energized and involves lots of activity

   Lớp này hơi trầm, thiếu không khí.

   This class has sort of a subdued air.

   (literally, “This class is sort of subdued and lacks air.”)

See also

• khí (“gas”)
• không (“the (open) air; zero”)
• không phận (“air space”)
• không trung (“the (open) air”)