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Kanji Detail for 中 - "middle, center, halfway"

中

  • Meaning

    中 means "middle, center, halfway."

    1. Middle - Inside; interior; within.

    2. Center - The middle point; not leaning to either side.

    3. Halfway - In the middle of progress; ongoing.

    4. Between - The space between things.

    5. Throughout - The entire period or range.

    6. To hit - To strike; to hit the mark.

    7. China - An abbreviation for "China."

  • Words using 中

    • 中国 ちゅうごく Listen China; Chūgoku region (western part of Honshu comprising the prefectures of Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tottori and Shimane); central part of a country
    • 中央 ちゅうおう Listen centre; center; middle
    • 中心 ちゅうしん Listen center; centre; middle
    • 中東 ちゅうとう Listen Middle East
    • 中間 ちゅうかん Listen middle; midway; halfway
    • 途中 とちゅう Listen on the way; en route; in the middle of
    • 中学 ちゅうがく Listen junior high school; middle school; lower secondary school
    • 中止 ちゅうし Listen interruption; discontinuance; suspension

  • Four-character idioms with 中

    • 中途半端 ちゅうとはんぱ Listen halfway; half measures; unfinished
    • 四六時中 しろくじちゅう Listen around the clock; day and night
    • 年中行事 ねんちゅうぎょうじ Listen annual function; annual event
    • 無我夢中 むがむちゅう Listen losing oneself (in); being absorbed (in); forgetting oneself
    • 一発必中 いっぱつひっちゅう Listen success on the first try (attempt)
    • 中肉中背 ちゅうにくちゅうぜい Listen medium build

  • Tattoo check: 中

    • Verified meaning: middle, center, halfway
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read あたり, あたる, あつ, あつる)

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 中

    Given names 中(あたり)Listen 中(あたる)Listen 中(かなえ)Listen 中(すなお)Listen 中(ただし)Listen 中(ちゅう)Listen 中(とおる)Listen

    Surnames 中(あつ)Listen 中(あつる)Listen 中(かなめ)Listen 中(さきなか)Listen 中(とうる)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    in; inside; middle; mean; center

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    central; center, middle; in the midst of; hit (target); attain

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    (bound form) China; Chinese; surname Zhong

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    central; center, middle; amidst; to hit (target), to attain; China; Chinese

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    Referring to the position of an object. Such as 中央 (center), 中心 (core). | Inside; interior. In contrast to outside. Such as referring to one's own country as 中國 in relation to foreign countries, or calling the capital 中央 in relation to outside areas. | Between two things is called 中. Such as upper-middle-lower, middle-left-right. Also, a mediator between two parties is called 中人. Same meaning. | Correct; proper. Neither biased nor leaning, neither excessive nor insufficient is called 中. Such as 中庸 (the mean), 中行 (moderate conduct). | Half. Such as 中途 (midway), 中夜 (midnight). | Broadly referring to a place. Such as 吳中 (in Wu), 蜀中 (in Shu). Or referring to time. Such as 康熙中 (during Kangxi), 乾隆中 (during Qianlong). | To hit. An arrow hitting the target, a bullet hitting the mark, a thrust hitting a person, all are called 中. By extension, when one's intention achieves its goal, it is also called 中. (Analects) "When he speculates, he often hits the mark." Today's 中謎 (solve a riddle), 中彩 (win a lottery) have this meaning. | To be affected by external things is also called 中. Such as 中風 (stroke), 中暑 (heatstroke). | To fit; to match. In the imperial examination era, passing the provincial or metropolitan exams was called 中式, meaning fitting the standards. Colloquially abbreviated as 中. Also, things that cannot be used are called 不中用. Same meaning. | Full; complete. The Han official system had 中二千石, meaning a full 2,000 石 salary.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    chuu(チュウ) チュウ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    a.taru(あ-たる) あ-たる

    naka(なか) なか

    uchi(うち) うち

  • Strokes

    tip

    4 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    丨 (tatebo・bo)

  • Related Keywords

    middle center halfway between hit inside interior neutral throughout whole china amid average central core heart mean median mediate midst

Sentences including 中

  • We went to paris in the course of our travels.

  • It was dark and cold in the room.

  • He stood up to go inside.

  • Going out in this rain is out of the question.

  • I had an accident at work.

  • I couldn't get in.

  • I'm very tired from working all day.

  • She went in to get it.

  • He walked up and down the room.

  • They dropped out of their school.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 丨 (tatebo・bo)

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