宙 — “universe / midair” in Japanese

Grade 6ちゅう

Radical ⼧ · radical 40 The building block this kanji is filed under

“universe / midair” in Japanese is 宙, read chuu (ちゅう). It is a Grade 6 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 6 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 宇宙 (the universe).

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What does 宙 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	宙
Meaning	universe / midair
Readings	ちゅう
Grade	Grade 6 (Hardest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	宇宙 (the universe)

How to read 宙

宙 is read chuu (ちゅう) depending on the word.

Words with 宙

宇宙うちゅう

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Kanji read the same way as 宙

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Updated: 2026-08-28