中
中 — In
in, inside, middle, mean, center
On’yomiチュウ (chuu)
Kun’yomiなか (naka)
Kun’yomiうち (uchi)
Kun’yomiあたる (ataru)
Stroke order (4 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 中
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 中央 | ちゅうおう chuuou | centre; center; middle |
| 中国 | ちゅうごく chuugoku | China; Chūgoku region (western part of Honshu comprising the prefectures of Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tottori and Shimane); central part of a country |
| 中心 | ちゅうしん chuushin | center; centre; middle |
| 中間 | ちゅうかん chuukan | middle; midway; halfway |
| 中東 | ちゅうとう chuutou | Middle East |
| 途中 | とちゅう tochuu | on the way; en route; in the middle of |
Study notes
中 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 4 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 1), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #11 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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