中 Kanji: Meaning, Readings and Stroke Order

中: inside; middle; center; during. JLPT N5; 4 strokes.

Readings

On readings

チュウ

Kun readings

なか、うち

Romaji

chuu, naka, uchi

Study notes

中 indicates the inside and center and, by extension, the "during"; as a suffix it means "in progress" or "throughout".

On reading: チュウ in 中心 (ちゅうしん, center), 中学 (ちゅうがく, middle school), 中止 (ちゅうし, suspension, cancellation), 中国 (ちゅうごく, China). After a noun, 〜中 (ちゅう) means "in progress": 会議中 (かいぎちゅう, in meeting), 電話中 (でんわちゅう, on the phone). With the sound じゅう it means "throughout": 一日中 (いちにちじゅう, all day long), 世界中 (せかいじゅう, throughout the world).

Kun reading: なか, "inside, in the middle": 箱の中 (はこのなか, inside the box), 中身 (なかみ, contents), 真ん中 (まんなか, exact center), 夜中 (よなか, dead of night). うち, "inside, within", with this kanji is rare: usually it is written 内 or in hiragana.

Remember: the opposite of 中 (なか) is 外 (そと, outside).

Example words

• 中学校 (ちゅうがっこう) — junior high school
• 中 (なか) — inside; interior
• 中 (うち) — among; within
• 中たる (あたる) — hit the target

Example sentences

かばんの中にあります。

kaban no naka ni arimasu.

It is inside the bag.

Stroke order

Follow the steps in order. Each new stroke is highlighted.

Stroke paths: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0. Sequential diagrams derived from the original paths.