空调
air conditioning
kōngtiáo
What does 空调 mean?
空调 (kōngtiáo) is the everyday noun for 'air conditioner' or 'air conditioning' — the appliance, the system, and the function. It's an abbreviation of 空气调节 (kōngqì tiáojié, literally 'air regulating'), but no one uses the long form in conversation. 空调 covers both heating and cooling functions of a modern AC unit, so '空调' in winter often means heat, not cool. Common verbs: 开空调 (kāi kōngtiáo) = turn on the AC, 关空调 (guān kōngtiáo) = turn it off, 调空调 (tiáo kōngtiáo) = adjust the AC.
To specify temperature, say 空调开到二十四度 (set the AC to 24 degrees). In Chinese homes and offices, AC is overwhelmingly wall-mounted split units (壁挂式), and central air is more common in newer buildings. The measure word is 台 (tái) for the physical unit.
Note: Neutral, used by everyone. The full form 空气调节 (kōngqì tiáojié, 'air regulating') is technical and almost never spoken; everyone says 空调.
Character breakdown
air; empty; sky
to regulate; adjust; tune
Memory hook: 空 ('air') + 调 ('regulate') — the air-regulator. Literal and easy.
Measure word for 空调
Example sentences
今天太热了，快开空调吧。
Jīntiān tài rè le, kuài kāi kōngtiáo ba.
It's so hot today, hurry up and turn on the AC.
spoken
我家有两台空调。
Wǒ jiā yǒu liǎng tái kōngtiáo.
There are two air conditioners in my home.
neutral
空调坏了，需要找人修。
Kōngtiáo huài le, xūyào zhǎo rén xiū.
The AC is broken, we need to find someone to fix it.
spoken
请把空调调到二十四度。
Qǐng bǎ kōngtiáo tiáo dào èrshísì dù.
Please set the AC to 24 degrees.
neutral, polite
睡觉的时候不要开空调太低。
Shuìjiào de shíhou búyào kāi kōngtiáo tài dī.
Don't set the AC too low when you sleep.
spoken
Common phrases with 空调
Don't confuse 空调 with
空气 means 'air' (the substance). 空调 is the machine that cools/heats the air. Don't substitute one for the other.
调 has two pronunciations: tiáo (to adjust, as in 空调) and diào (to transfer / tune, as in 调动). In 空调 it's always tiáo.
电扇 means 'electric fan.' Cheaper and less effective than 空调. Don't mix them up when ordering: 我要空调房 = I want an air-conditioned room, very different from 电扇房 (which isn't really a phrase)