空港

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: The spelling is 空港, read くうこう, and it combines 空, meaning sky or air travel, with 港, meaning port.
• Basic usage: The basic sense of 空港 is an airport facility where aircraft take off and land and passengers or cargo depart and arrive.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The entire facility and something located inside it
  • Both examples use the form 空港. The first names the airport as a destination, while the second modifies an information board located within that facility.
• An early bus trip and checking a boarding gate
  • 朝早くバスで空港へ向かいました。 — I took a bus to the airport early in the morning.
  • 空港の案内板で搭乗口を確認しました。 — I checked the gate on the airport information board.